What Time Can Never Heal
by M0jojojo
Summary: Hermione is left crippled and lifeless after a deadly betrayal. Can a shadow from her past help her to live again? Or will past differences ruin the future together and forever condemn them to a life of lonely sadness? post hogwarts.hgdm
1. Chapter 1

Draco sighed as he sank into the chair in his cubicle. "That's another day wasted running around in a goose chase." he muttered. He ran his hand through his messed up, platinum blonde hair and glanced at the map on the wall opposite him. A series of indicators showed where recent muggleborn attacks had taken place. These attacks were haphazard and the indicators seemed like they were just a bunch of dots messing up the map. But Draco's instincts were telling him something else. The attacks where somehow connected. Draco felt that he had over looked something, some clue nagging him in the back of his head; the answer that will connects the dots together.

"But WHAT!!" he yelled in frustration, pounding the wall with his fist.

Suddenly, before he could continue abusing his hand, somebody rushed past his cubicle, nearly colliding with Professor Longbottom, the herbology expert in the Ministry.

Draco stood up, immediately regretting his action as his tired leg muscles protested loudly against the sudden move. "Oi there Harry," he hobbled in the direction of the person apologizing to Neville,"Weaslette wants her dinner cooked?" he teased.

To his surprise, Harry Potter didn't smile. "Hermione's in St. Mungo's Draco. I just got the news."

The color drained from Draco's face and his heart skipped a beat, then sank to his boots. "Merlin, what happened? Is she okay?" he asked, or more specifically, demanded. Harry took a look at Draco's stricken face, and saw the battle going on in his stormy, gray eyes, and the painful love in them. "No one told you?" Harry asked, perplexed. " No. Do you honestly thinking I'd be standing here, wasting my time asking you what the hell happened to Hermione, if I already knew?! Honestly Harry, you can be bloody thick at times.

_He doesn't know? Then I can't tell him. I shouldn't be the one telling him anyway. That's Ginny's job, and besides Draco can find out later, when he's less agitated and sitting down in a chair, handcuffed, and with a silence charm on him. Draco would never forgive himself if he knew the whole truth. Yeah, I better make up a lie then."_ thought Harry, analyzing the situation. "Hermione was... uhhh, I mean she has...errr...she has a stomach ache!' Harry finished triumphantly. "Stomach ache? She's at St. Mungo's because of a stomach ache? Are you trying to hide something from me Harry?" Draco asked, utterly confused. He searched Harry's green eyes to know if he was telling the truth. Harry turned away, lest Draco saw the worry, fright, and sadness in his eyes. Nevertheless, some color returned to Draco's pale face, and his heart went back to its rightful place in his chest. Hermione wasn't in any danger after all. He waited for an explanation from Harry. " Ginny nearly snapped my head off a short while ago. 'Mione's pregnant, remember? Apparently, having a stomach ache while you're pregnant is bad news. Ron's already there, he just flew from London, but Ginny wants me there as well. I'm in a bit of a hurry, as I really don't feel up to another blowup from Ginny. One's enough for me any day." Harry forced a grin on his face, so he can leave without Draco being more suspicious than he really is. To avoid any more questions, Harry turned on the spot and apparated.

"How could I forget 'Mione's pregnant? Especially since that idiot Roger has been reminding me every day for 3 months now!?" Draco spat bitterly, still staring at the spot Harry Apparated from. " From all the agencies in the world, and all the departments, he had to work in RAID." The Research and Information Department, or RAID for short, was from the very few departments that worked closely with the Auror Department, as their main purpose was to create and research disguises and identities undercover Aurors use on spy missions. And Roger, Draco's arch enemy and the Minister of Magic's personal favorite, was a prominent figure in RAID. " Careful Mrs. Spinelli doesn't hear you." commented Nymphadora Tonks, recently promoted Head of the Auror office since Kingsley Shacklebot retired after his marriage 2 weeks ago. She was Draco's favorite cousin, and Harry and Draco's boss. She was laughing at Draco's rare emotional outburst as she added, " Nor the Minister for that matter. You still have feelings for her?"

"I'll never stop, Nymphadora," he smiled as he saw her squirm, after all these years she still hated her name. "Though I can't do anything about it anymore, can I? I was idiotic, and 'fessed up too late. I could never live with myself if i was the cause of her unhappiness, or the breaking up of her marriage. Speaking of Hermione, you should know that she's in St. Mungo's with a stomach ache that, according to Mrs. Potter, is bad news for pregnant women." He was eager to change the subject away from himself. He succeeded, for Tonks opened her eyes wide and clutched Draco's arm tightly. " Bloody hell, she's in labor??" she asked breathlessly. Draco gave a chuckle; how his clumsy, absent-minded cousin ever became the Head of the department was beyond his comprehension. " No. In labor? Nymphadora, she's just 3 months pregnant."

" Oh right. How silly of me. I'll go and take a peek at her anyway, I haven't seen her in ages. Do you want to come with me?" Draco hesitated. "No I'd rather watch from a distance." he replied. " Suit yourself. In that case, can you cover for me? I've finished all my work, but i want someone there just in case of emergencies. It'll go in your overtime pay." Tonks looked at him waiting for his reply. " Sure. I don't mind." he said, he had nothing better to do. " Alright. It's all settled then. Wotcher, Mister Malfoy." She beamed, and with a flick of her cloak, she apparated for St.Mungo's.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I hated writing this chapter. I absolutely hated it. Oh, well. It's necessary for the plot to go on. Just for reference, all the underlined sentences are Draco's thoughts. Thanks again to all those who supported me, especially my friends: Nauf, mawii, cookie, neena7, sumaya, Sarah and jeje. And a special thanks to everyone who took the trouble to review.**

flashback

_"Hermione, I need to talk to you." Draco beckoned to Hermione to follow him out of the noisy hubbub at the Burrow. "What's wrong Draco?" Hermione asked as she left the living room's warmth and stepped out in the cold. Draco looked deep in her hazel-brown eyes, noticing them fill with concern, quickly losing the happy twinkle they had moments ago. He frowned; maybe his voice had given him away? "Merlin knows I could get lost in her beautiful eyes for hours." thought Draco to himself. "How am I supposed to tell her? Oh, Hermione, sorry for spoiling your fun and all, but I love you. Yes, you can give up your whole life for me, and fall in my arms and stay there forever." If only it were that simple. "Pull yourself together Draco. You are a Malfoy, and Malfoys aren't afraid to tell the love of their life there feelings**."**** That's why it took you three years to pluck up the courage about how you feel, right.** "Oh, shut up, that was different." _

"_Draco?" Hermione asked tentatively. He took a deep breath. " Iloveyoumione." he mumbled. "Sorry?" Hermione was confused. It's either now or never. Draco took another deep breath to steady his nerves. "I…I love you." _

_Silence. Long, cold, chilling silence. Draco was really nervous now. Why's the I-love-you-I'll-stay-in-your-arms-forever part taking so bloody long? Something was deeply wrong. Draco could feel it in his bones. He gazed deep into her eyes; searching for a glimmer of hope, her answer, anything. For a moment he saw love in them, and then hurt, but when he looked again it was replaced by hard, cold fury. _

_Oh, dear._

"_Now? Now you tell me? After three years, now you tell me? On the day Roger asks my hand in marriage?" She asked, anger lacing her words. Draco looked at her, hurt and confusion filling his stormy gray eyes. "Isn't it enough that I love you? We're made for each other, not like you and Roger. Honestly, that idiot is way beneath you and you deserve much better than him!" _

"_Don't you dare! Don't you DARE say anything about my Roger!" Draco cringed when he heard "my Roger" "At least it didn't take him three years to notice me, tell me how he feels!" Hermione glared at him. "Yeah, it took him all of two months." Draco's heart sank to his stomach. "Three years? What the hell do you mean by that?" _

"_You didn't even notice?!!!" she screamed, while tears threatened to flood her face. "I can't believe you! Haven't you even noticed that even while a lot of people asked me out I turned most of them down! Do you know that I was proposed to twice and I refused both times? I said no, Draco. I REFUSED! For you Draco, I refused. I could have been happily married now, with kids and a house…but, no. I waited and waited for you to say something…anything. Even if you had told me you hated me, I would have accepted that. At least I would have known what I mean to you." _

"_I…" _

"_Let me FINISH! I loved you Draco, like I've never loved anyone else, and you ignored that. You broke my heart, and when I finally patched it up, you come and break it again." Now Hermione was crying freely. Draco, on the other hand was stunned. His heart broke into pieces when he realized the pain that Hermione went through. "Why didn't I notice? Why do I have to be such a coward? I should have spoken earlier." _

"_God I've been stupid. I…I thought you loved Ron and I've been trying to tell you my feelings, but I couldn't." Draco wanted to go back in time, fix his mistakes._

"_Ron?" Hermione gave a hysterical laugh, her face a flood of tears. It was as if for every single tear she had cried in the past, there was another one running down her cheeks. _

"_I have to have her. I just can't give up like this."_ Draco made his mind up. He would have to make Hermione see that what she was doing was wrong. Famous last words. "Look… Hermione, love, I was a fool for not making my move earlier, and I'm still a fool and the world's biggest idiot, but…" he took a breath and held her shoulders so that they were three inches apart from each other, "Hermione, you said it yourself. You love me and I… you…we need to be together." He whispered. He could see her hesitate. It gave him courage and he continued on. "I know you want me. I can see it in your eyes. How hard can it be to tell Roger that you changed your mind?" The moment Draco uttered these words, he immediately regretted them. Whatever good he had done was now lost forever. Hermione Granger (Spinelli in the future, it hurt Draco just thinking of it) was an extremely proud and independent woman, and that was the worst thing Draco could have possibly said. He watched the face of the woman he loved as it turned into a kaleidoscope of colors, ending in deep scarlet that was the sure sign of rage. She pushed his hands away, her eyes blazing.

"_That's what you think. I have never, and I will never need you." She turned on her heel and ran to the Burrow, only stopping for a moment to wipe her tears. Draco stood stunned in his place as he heard Mrs. Weasley as she asked about Draco, and Hermione's state, hearing Hermione coolly answer: "Oh, Draco said he had to go to work. He just wanted to congratulate me privately." _

_Draco turned around and Apparated to Malfoy Manor, where he was going to drown himself in his misery._

"Miss. Tonks...Miss Tonks…Is anyone here?"

Draco was violently pulled from his reverie. A squat, fat, young man, one of the junior Aurors-in-Training, knocked the door of Tonks' office then opened it. His eyes searched the dark room for the Head Auror. Suddenly he glimpsed tousled platinum hair from the chair, and immediately knew who its famous owner was. "I…er…I was looking for Miss Tonks. So sorry for disturbing you. I'll be leaving now." The poor man stammered, visibly terrified. Draco was known for his hardness with his appointed trainees. Draco swiveled around on the chair, so he was facing him. The look on Draco's face was enough to frighten anybody out of their wits. The trainee put his hand on the knob, clearly wanting to leave. "Wait, Edwards. What is it you want?" Draco said, obviously distracted. His mind was still on a certain Gryffindor. "I…er…this is for Miss Tonks only. It's top priority."

Draco narrowed his eyes, but his voice was devoid of any emotion as he said: "I'm acting as Miss Tonks' surrogate. She is away for urgent business. And anything to be conveyed to her should be given to me immediately. Especially, if it is, as you say, top priority."

Edwards faltered. "Uhhh…if I can't report this to Miss Tonks, then I can only report it to the Auror handling the muggleborn attacks case."

**_The idiot. _**"This is why you have to report to me, Edwards. I was assigned this particular case 2 weeks ago. And if you need any more persuasion, If you do not disclose to me this very "important" report, I will see to it personally that you never become an Auror in your entire, miserable little life." Draco said, in a dry menacing tone. He was losing his patience. His mind was telling him that this was just another false lead, another wild goose chase. But his instincts where telling him something else, that this was important.

Edwards' face turned pale at the threat. No one in the entire department took Draco Malfoy's threats lightly. His hands shook slightly as he placed the file on Tonks' desk.

"A…a muggleborn was attacked near Hyde Park at 3 am this morning."

"And now you tell me. Was a dispatch team sent? What are the results from the examination of the body? Next time something like this happens, if you do not notify me immediately I will curse every single person responsible!" Draco fired off questions, his interest entirely focused on the case. _This might be the lead I'm waiting for. What bloody reason do they have for telling me this late? It's 9 pm. now for Merlin's sake._

Edwards looked flustered as he tried to answer all of Draco's questions.

"That's the thing, sir. There was no body."

"There's an attack, but no body? Do mean you didn't find the body?"

"The victim was stabbed seven times to the stomach by a dagger covered with an unknown magical substance. We think it might be poison."

"Then where is the bloody body?"

"Well…sir, that's the miracle. She survived the attack. The muggleborn victim I mean."

_Oh Merlin. It's Hermione. **Don't be an idiot, Hermione is at the hospital with a stomach ache, remember? **Yeah, right. But wait, Harry was being a little weird over a stomach ache, don't you think. **Harry's not going to lie to you, you nitwit**. He might**. Give it a rest will you? If Harry didn't tell you the truth someone else would have. And Nymphadora would have known, wouldn't she?**_

"Ummm… sir?" Edwards peered at Draco curiously.

"Yes, Edwards. What do you want?" Draco responded curtly. He was still recovering from the battle he just had with his brain and the emotions he felt when his thoughts immediately flew to her. Why her?

"Answering your previous question, we weren't informed about the situation until an hour ago, seeing as the victim was in a coma and she has just awakened from it. Also the Healer in charge of her ordered that the victim should not be interrogated until she has recovered from the initial shock. She is currently at St.Mungo's and her room number, the floor, and the name of the Healer is in the file. The name of the patient has not been disclosed for safety reasons." Edwards seemed out of breath.

"Thank you Edwards." Draco nodded to him.

"Would you like anything else sir?"

"Find me the evidence report written and I want the wizard in charge of the dispatch team brought here immediately."

"There was no dispatch team at the request of Mr. Potter, sir."

"No dispatch team sent? Why would Harry do that? Very well. I want a team ready tomorrow at 8 am sharp, and I want the forensics expert at hand."

"I will see to that sir. Anything else?"

"No, you may leave." Draco pointed towards the door.

Things were definitely turning for the best. A survivor was the best evidence a inspector could wish for. He hoped the evidence at the crime scene was enough to point them in the right direction.

Draco looked at the file on the desk. He opened it and turned to the page where information about the victim was recorded. As Edwards had mentioned, there was no name for the patient. He looked at the room number. 402, Potion and Plant Poisoning, 3rd floor. Now why was she in Potion and Plant Poisoning? Oh, maybe it's because of the poison in the dagger.

What should Draco do now? He contemplated his options: waiting till tomorrow, or visit the victim now and size her up. Any witch who could survive seven stabs is a very powerful witch indeed. _Just like Hermione._ He opted for the second choice, as there was nothing to do back home, no one waiting for him… and besides he felt that it was going to be very interesting.

Making up his mind, he left a note for Tonks, picked up a handful of Floo powder, and threw it in the fire place. He stepped inside, clearly saying, "St.Mungo's".

**A/N: I told you it's a very bad chapter. And an extremely long one, longer than I intended it to be. Oh, well. I did the best I could. I also left HUGE pointers to what's going to happen. If it were up to me, Draco & Hermione would be happily married, with a million children and living happily ever after. I'm a corny romantic. And I absolutely hate Roger. But this is the way the story must go. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone. I had to ignore a couple of lessons at school to write this for you. Thanks again to everybody who reviewed me. (This chapter has a vague mention of Draco's past)**

Chapter Three

Thud. Draco dusted off the soot from his robes. He stepped into the hallway, where he could see the rest of the adjoining fireplaces, all part of the well connected Floo system the hospital had recently acquired. It was quiet, except for the odd harassed wizard or witch coming out. Draco hadn't expected much bustle, as it was after visiting hours now. St. Mungo's was connected before of course, but it was destroyed during the war, and it had taken all of two years of peace to build it up from scratch. The war had destroyed almost everything, and for Draco, it had destroyed what he had known as his life.

Naturally, he had lost both parents, one to the Kiss and the other during battle. But it had hurt him so much, more than he had ever showed. Contrary to what people believed, his parents loved him. He wasn't the rich poor boy everyone must take pity on because his parents were distant and cold. Of course his father was distant, but that was just the way he was raised to treat his children. They had wanted the best for Draco, and the best to them, or at least his father was to become a death eater. Draco realized, too late, how wrong this was, and how much it tore him apart. So during the war, he hid away, and resolved to be neutral, the Switzerland between wizards.

But one girl, the Gryffindor know-it-all, had changed all that. She found him and started to talk to him. She was lonely as well since her parents had been killed by Death Eaters. She was the one who discovered his devotion and love for his mother, and his desperate attempts to save what left of his father. She was the one who knew about all those years of trying to please his father and where that took him. She knew about the Dark Mark, and to his surprise, didn't run away or shrink from him. Instead she took it as her mission to discover the kind soul hidden in him, under all his guilt, sin and his darkest secrets.

She was the one who was the reason behind his change from Switzerland, to spy. He had fallen for her, fallen so hard that the only thing that pushed him to coming out of hiding and spying for the Light, was that he didn't want Hermione to end up a mudblood slave. And Draco's help was one of the major points of the Order's victory against Voldemort. Every time he was forced to torture some innocent person, or was tortured himself for failing (whenever he could) or just for the plain amusement of it, he would escape to his dreams. Where Hermione loved him; where her lovely dark brown eyes were filled with tenderness and ardor, instead of disdain or pity.

Then when the war was over, Draco was left to gather broken pieces of what he could from his past life. He kept Malfoy Manor, and donated large sums of money to patch up the wizard community, anonymously. No one knew of his grants, and Draco wanted to keep it that way.

His parents dead, left lonely with all the chaos and destruction around him, the only thing that helped him come out of the whole ordeal unscathed, was Hermione's help.

Hermione had seen through all the layers and walls he had put up for protection, to the compassionate, loving, arrogant, proud person Draco really was. She introduced him to Harry, and convinced them both to drop the past. She had made the real Draco shine when, out of continuous badgering from her, he spent a fortnight at the Weasley's. As much as that visit was hell (Fred and George had decided to reopen their shop again and they were trying some new tricks), it was a blessing from heaven. From that day on, Mrs.Weasley, taking pity on him, decided to embrace him as if he was her own flesh and blood. Actually, most of the Weasley family had forgotten the past and adopted Draco as a son, next to Harry, and Draco had felt guilty about all the foul things he had said to this amazing family. He spent Christmases, Easters and his birthday at the Burrow. He helped Bill with breaking charms, visited Charlie in Romania, and made fun of Percy, who was still avoiding the family. The formalities between him and Harry slipped away and they became close friends once they discovered they had a lot in common. It's true that he and Ron didn't start off too well; it was harder for Ron to forget childhood memories than it was for everyone else. He also had seen Draco as a threat, between him and Harry and at the same time Hermione. But now things were good. It wasn't picture perfect, but at least when Ron settled down with Luna, the hexes that used to fly whenever they were in the same room were non-existent. But all that didn't matter anymore. He had lost her now.

Draco stopped at the end of the corridor and scratched his head. Which way was it? Damn these hospitals and their never ending mazes! Suddenly he spotted a white robe. A nurse! Salvation from all this sickness! Draco forgot what had made him come in the first place. It held so many memories. Blaise…so near death. His mother…He shook his head to dispel the memories. He had never told anybody. No, the memories were hidden deep in his soul, where all his darkest and most valuable secrets lay.

"Excuse me? Excuse me, miss?" The white robe withdrew from the door marked 'storage', and with it came a man's head.

"Do you need anything?" The nurse asked curtly, his eyes falling on Draco's somewhat vampire look, with his handsome pale face and hair, and his black cloak with the collar upturned.

_Oh. She's…I mean he's a Mr., not a Ms. How I supposed to know he was a guy? His back didn't help much._

"Yeeees…could you tell me where room 402 is located?"

"It's after visiting hours, and you need a permit to enter that room. Visiting hours start tomorrow at eight o'clock." The man narrowed his eyes.

"Draco Malfoy, Auror department, Ministry of Magic. I don't need a permit anywhere, and visiting hours for me is around the clock." Draco drawled, in that unfazed, calm but cold manner of his, which demanded obedience from everyone who received it. It always worked too. He flashed his identification badge, which had a scowling, dark-clothed Draco, glaring at this moment, at the nurse.

"You might be able to enter, but that's up to security. But interrogation is banned until Healer Barnaby arrives next morning to determine the condition of the patient."

"I won't do anything. Just going to give my condolence to the vict…patient." Draco snapped.

"If you say so. Doesn't seem like you have to ask me." The nurse commented dryly. "Second room on the left." The nurse pointed his finger in the right direction, and then turned his back to Draco and back to his work.

"Thank you." Draco left to find his way.

Yikes. Talk about sensitive. _**You weren't being helpful either were you? He was just doing his job**. Oh, don't give me that. _

Draco made his way past a lot of halls and doors, until he reached what had to be the second door on the left.

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Why did he need to steady his nerves? He was a Malfoy for Merlin's sake; calm, cool and collected. With that resolve, he turned the doorknob and stepped inside. Darkness. Draco stopped. He hoped that he hadn't come at an inappropriate time, or made all this trip for nothing. He hovered near the door, hesitating, debating whether he should leave or not.

"Come in." A frail, tired voice that had a certain familiarity about it. His heart suddenly became heavy. The voice was so sad, so hurt that Draco backed to the door, his brain racing. It was like his mother again… no, he mustn't think that. How could he have thought that he could handle this? It was his greatest weakness. He couldn't handle pain. He just couldn't. Suddenly it hit him. This wasn't just a victim. This was a woman, a live, breathing, feeling woman that has just been stabbed 7 times!

_Don't panic. You have to do this, you came this far already. It's time you faced your fears. And think of all those attacks, and all those innocent dead people. Do it for them._

"Hello? I'm Draco Malfoy, Auror at the Ministry of Magic." He said to know one in particular. Why was the room so dark? He walked a few steps to where there was a sliver of moonlight, and he could faintly make out a head. "I apologize for coming at this hour, but I thought…"

Draco trailed off, stunned. His beat wildly. He tried to say something but his voice had disappeared.

"Her…Hermione?!"

To be continued.

**A/N: Finally. I thought this chapter would never end. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but chapie 4 is coming very soon! I can't wait. I was originally planning 2 put it all in one chapie, but it was so long and I was really anxious to put this one up, so I split them.** **Your comments are welcome. Tell me what you think, cuz I thought this chapter was quite boring (except for the end, teeheehee).**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks Nauf 4 da support ( see I wrote ur name here just like u asked). And make sure no one takes Jake. And… Draco is MINE! And mawii, cookie, jeje, and Sarah alk, '3aloosh, Hayat, aya, neena7, Lulu, Lama and Maria. Your support means the world. And silidons and the-recurring-dreams (did I get your name right?) for faithfully reviewing this story from its creation.**

Chapter Four

"Her…Hermione?!" Draco croaked, stunned and barely able to get the words out of his mouth. His brain couldn't digest the facts.

_Oh bloody hell! Shit! Am I dreaming?! Wait, she's in St. Mungo's, isn't she? For pregnancy tests or something. Of all the bloody rooms he could have blundered into, why did it have to be Hermione's? _He ruffled his hair in frustration. _It's all that nurse's fault. You idiot. No it wasn't. It's your fault not his. You must've messed up in the directions. You didn't even check the room's number, you were so bloody nervous. There wasn't any security there too._

_Wow, she looks beautiful. _The faint moonlight was falling on her face and illuminating her eyes. For a moment they glistened. But when he crept closer, the moment was gone. Her eyes were dead and dull, and he noticed dark circles under her eyes, and the tear stains on her cheeks. He wanted to hug her, comfort her, to be the one who swept all her troubles away. He barely caught himself from running to her. Silence overcame the room, and it felt like hours, years maybe passed by while they were just staring at each other. He watched as a single tear ran down her cheek. What was wrong? His hand came up and brushed the tear away, as if it had a mind of its own. He felt like a jolt had passed through his arm. Draco hadn't been this close to Hermione for more than a year. Oh, how he missed her! But she seemed so…lifeless.

She had known who he was as soon as he opened the door. The moment he walked in, the faint moonlight that Hermione had agreed to be let in her room, had reflected off his pale tousled hair. What was he doing here? The minute she woke up, she had made Ginny promise not to tell him, or anyone for that matter. Harry couldn't have told him either, because she had made him swear on his father's Invisibility Cloak too. Only Mrs.Weasley. Tonks, Harry, Ron, and Ginny knew. Why hadn't she wanted anyone to know? _Because I don't want their pity._ Hermione thought bitterly. _Especially his pity. He must have found someway. Harry had said something about Draco knowing sooner or later because of …Oh, I don't care. _Her brain hurt every time she tried to think.

She watched him as he uttered her name in disbelief, as if he'd walked in the wrong room. She watched him ruffle his hair, like he did whenever he was frustrated. No one spoke. They just sat there gazing at each other in this weird silence. Oh, how she needed him! She had needed him so much this past year that it had nearly killed her inside. At one point, covering the bruises and cuts, putting a happy face in front of everyone became so much, she nearly took her father's Muggle prescription pills to leave this world all together. Imagine, Hermione Granger, Gryffindor know-it-all, the strongest witch Hogwarts ever knew, was contemplating suicide. She didn't even know why she stayed with him, made excuses for him, to herself and everyone else. Then she remembered the life inside her, and decided to live after all. She decided to be strong for this soul, and convinced herself that this baby would make everything right again. Now that little soul has stopped beating its tiny heart, and Hermione's world crumbled beneath her. Its loss had made Hermione join the living dead. No one had told her, they hadn't dared because of Hermione's frail condition, both emotionally and physically. But Hermione knew, like only a mother knows, that the being she had lovingly carried around for five months, had died on that fateful night. The night he had told her, for the first time, the truth. The night she had confronted him; the night he had stabbed her to her death. Yes, to outsiders she was alive. But inside? You could have buried her 6 feet under and she wouldn't have cared. That night, her soul had died.

A single tear trailed its path down her cheek. She had no more tears to cry. Her reserve had given out at last.

She gasped inwardly as Draco suddenly brushed the tear off her face. Her heart leaped ever so slightly as she looked deep into his beautiful stormy gray eyes. The eyes she had once wanted to drown herself in. She wanted nothing more in this world than for him to wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything was alright. That it was just a nightmare and that she should wake up now. That she hadn't let her pride get in the way the day she ended up saying yes to Roger instead of Draco…

No, no! What was she thinking?! What would Draco want with her now after she had hurt him so horribly? She would never forget the look in his eyes when she told him…She shook her head unconsciously to chase out the thoughts. _I don't care anymore, not now, not ever…_

She was now so…lifeless.

Draco warily sat in the chair beside her bed, not removing his gaze from her eyes. He thought he saw something in them, but…no. They were as dull and dead as they were before. The absence of the spark in her brown eyes was weighing down on Draco's heart. It seemed as if Hermione had lived a nightmare. What was wrong?

"What's wrong Hermione?" Draco asked gently, without meaning to. He cringed; he had planned to say something completely different.

Something stirred deep inside Hermione when she heard him say her name so tenderly. The words she had promised to keep to herself came tumbling out.

"My baby's dead."

"What? Why? What happened?" Draco was stunned. Did he hear her incorrectly?

"Everything. I lost my child." She was talking in a cold, flat voice. "I lost my whole life."

"What? What are you on about?"

_So he didn't know after all. Well, saying the words out loud won't make a difference. Nothing makes a difference anymore._

She turned her head and gazed at the stars outside the charmed window. She used to find them soothing, enchanting even. Why had she thought them so beautiful? They were just a cluster of annoying haphazard dots messing up the clear night sky. Nothing was enchanting anymore. Even reading books was boring now. Repeating the words wouldn't cause her no more pain then what she had already endured.

"I was stabbed. I was stabbed over and over again to the stomach. He said he didn't want a mudblood's baby. He said he was just using me to do what he wants. Everybody thinks I don't know, that I shouldn't be told. The idiots. My baby's dead." She repeated, in that same dead flat voice that pierced Draco's heart like a knife. His head was reeling from the shock. Stabbed…? Stomach? Idiots? Mudblood's…?? He couldn't piece the words together. Over and over again to the stomach…No, she can't be! "No!" Draco whispered, in hushed voice. "No! You're not…You can't be…" He shook his head in disbelief.

Suddenly realization dawned on him. Mudblood's baby.

"Roger? Roger did this to you?" The expression on his face was unreadable.

Something stirred inside Hermione; she felt her soul was ripping to two when she heard his name. She thought there was no more pain to be felt! But Draco, saying his name, had brought back all the memories of injustice and abuse. Suddenly her eyes threatened to spill new tears. Where did they come from? She thought they were gone. But she didn't want to cry. She just wanted to close her eyes and never open them again.

She closed her eyes and nodded.

There was a shuffling sound. Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco standing up. Something like disappointment, underneath all the pain and wounds, sparked, but a soon as it came it disappeared again.

Draco was seething inside. His heart and brain was ablaze with fury and pain; fury for everyone involved, and pain for Hermione's state. A million questions were flying in his brain; foremost of all was "Why didn't Harry fucking tell me??" He had stood up suddenly, energy coursing through his blood, every cell alert. He will get Roger if it was the last thing he did. _He will die. I'm going to make him pay for fucking ounce of pain he caused Hermione. He wrote his own death sentence when he messed with her!_

"Where's Harry?" Draco demanded.

"I don't know. I think he had something important with Ginny." Hermione listlessly answered.

He practically ran to the door. "I'll come back soon. I promise. I just have to go murder Harry first." He called over his shoulder.

"Why? Oh no don't, I made him promise not to tell anyone." Hermione said in a weak voice.

He was outside the room by then. She didn't know if he heard her.

Draco sprinted down the corridor; ignoring the protests of the nurse, who was still in the storage for some reason. He ran all the way to the hallway of fireplaces. He went into the nearest one, threw some Floo powder, and stepped inside while clearly saying, "Godric's Hollow."

Harry was in deep, deep trouble.

**A/N: OMG! Hermione, thinking reading books is boring?! She must be seriously messed up! Poor thing. Here's the long awaited chapie 4. Sorry for the lack of dialogue. You guys don't know what I went through to put this chapie from my head onto paper. I rewrote it so many times I can recite it by heart now! It's just that the fic is based on this chapter, and it's so emotional and important that I was scared I messed it up. You can ask Nauf how the first draft was, (right dude?) Your comments are all welcome. Oh yeah one more thing. I know that I said Hermione was pregnant for 3 months in the earlier chapters, but it was just the guys getting it all mixed up since they don't understand the 1st thing about pregnancy.:P Cheers, I hope you enjoy the chapie!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapie is for you Mawii and Nauf! Can you believe they rewrote a completely different chapter for my story?! I did use a lot of the points here but not everything. Thanks Nauf, Mawii, cookie, jeje, and Sarah alk, '3aloosh, Hayat, aya, neena7, Lulu, Lama and Maria. You guys are the best. And silidons and this-recurring-dream for faithfully reviewing this story from its creation and actually liking the old chapter. And min for the amazing review u left me…and kitsunetails for pointing out a few things in her review. I hope u like this chapie better! And lily1211 and jeje and inlovewithbubblegum for putting me in their favorites. Huge ego booster!**

Chapter Five

"I still think we should tell her. She has a right to know her baby's dead. And Harry, stop being overprotective of her. Hermione's a strong witch, or she wouldn't have lived through… through what happened to her." Ginny's voice wavered in the end. She had been scared to death when she heard what happened. A part of her was guilty because she should have seen what was coming, or at least told someone. She had seen the signs of abuse on Hermione, but when she had confronted her, Hermione denied everything at first, then threatened to break off their friendship if Ginny told anyone about the bruises. _It's all my fault…I should have told someone, anyone. Maybe if I wasn't so selfish about my friendship with Hermione I would've been able to prevent what happened. Ow, my head hurts. I wish Harry would just stop ranting; he's making the drums in my head play punk rock. _Ginny's face was already a flood of tears.

"Tell her? In the state she's in? And how can I not be protective of my best friend? I should have noticed what Roger was doing to her! I should have done something! I'm the one who vanquished Voldemort for Merlin's sake! How come I can't do a simple thing as protect the people I love?! Next thing I know, you'll end up in a hospital bed! How couldn't I have noticed?" Harry repeated, hitting his head on the wall, his voice thick with emotion. Ginny stood up, and pulled Harry from the wall, where he was making a permanent mark of his head. She hugged him gently, comforting him as much as she can. Whatever sorrow she was feeling, Harry felt it a thousand times over. He felt that it was his fault, because he had introduced Roger to Hermione. He had felt that, ever since Hermione's parents died in the war, that he was responsible of protecting her and comforting her. How could he not notice that Hermione was being visibly abused by her husband? How can he not be able to protect her? He had been too busy to call her regularly these few weeks and because of that a dark poison ran through her blood, and her baby was dead.

Ginny pulled back and looked at Harry. A few tears were grazing his face, and he shook slightly. "Harry…it's not your fault, do you understand? I knew too, and I noticed but I kept quiet. I knew Harry! If anyone could have stopped this it could have been me!"

Harry shook his head in denial. "No Harry you don't understand. I knew! I knew Roger was hitting her! I even talked to her about it! But she made me promise…and I was selfish enough to play along with her. Do you understand? I wasn't there for her. We all weren't. We weren't there for Hermione, who has been there for every tear, every smile every…" Ginny trailed off, she was shaking now too, sobs racking her body. It was Harry's turn to comfort her, troubled as he was.

"Master Harry, Missus is wanting a box of tissues? If Master wants sir, Dobby will hit his head on the wall to make mark like master did sir!"

Dobby hovered around Harry's elbow until he took a tissue, then immediately went to the wall to bang his head. Harry marched to Dobby to drag him from the wall. Dobby had came to work, without Harry's consent (Dobby wouldn't even take wages from him; Hermione was furious) for Harry after he graduated from Hogwarts.

He peered into Ginny's eyes in silence and brought up his hand to brush her tears away. No one could understand him like she did. He kissed her softly then dropped back in the kitchen chair, defeated. He sighed, and looked at Ginny. "I don't know what to do anymore. It's just that…I don't know. I'm messed up. I can't even understand what the Healer wants."

Ginny went and sat next to her husband. "I understand; but I still think the others should know. Especially Draco. He'll feel betrayed if he finds out from some one other than you. Imagine if something happens to me and no one told you. He still loves her Harry. He might be able to help Hermione get out of the darkness she surrounded herself with. You and me both know how powerful true love can be." He was quiet for a moment, "Ginny, there's something I have to tell you…"

Whoosh. Something or someone fell in the living room of the modest house and let out a stream of curses. Harry and Ginny dropped their discussion immediately. Dobby rushed past mumbling: "Dobby will see who it is sir."

A bout of shouting and a crash followed. Dobby could be heard saying: "Why is you breaking master's favorite table sir?" "Bloody table! Nearly decapitated my knee! Why do you have to put it in front of the bloody fireplace every time I come here?!" A familiar voice bellowed. Harry and Ginny exchanged knowing glances. "Too late for that…" Harry trailed off as a furious Draco Malfoy burst into the kitchen clutching his knee with one hand and Dobby's throat with the other. Seeing Harry, he dropped both and made a beeline for Harry, ignoring his throbbing knee. He caught Harry and slammed him into the wall, ignoring Ginny's exclamations. He jabbed his wand into Harry's throat.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? Why didn't you bloody tell me? Did you think I could never have found out?" Draco bellowed, his rage surfacing again. "Me? You told everyone else but me! You know how I feel for Hermione, you know how important this is to me! But nooo…lets keep all this from Draco, and let him find out the painful way. I would have found out anyway Harry, it involves the investigation I'm following. But instead of hearing from you, my so-called friend, I found out by a ruddy training junior telling me of an emergency and walking into Hermione's room by mistake."

"Draco, stop it and put Harry down!" Ginny cut in worried. Harry was turning blue.

"Ginny keep out of this! Answer me! Or are you too scared to answer Potty boy?"

"Draco, I'm warning you!" Ginny threatened, taking out her wand.

"Draco…calm…down and let…me…down…so…I…canbreathe. So…I can explain" Harry gasped.

"EXPLAIN! WHAT IS THERE TO EXPLAIN? You were the one who introduced her to that bastard! And I saw you the other day, and you lied, TO MY FACE!!" Draco shouted.

That was it. Harry had enough. Strangely so did Ginny. "Expelliarmus!" She yelled causing them to separate from each other, Draco hitting the wall. Harry massaged his neck. "HOW DARE YOU? You have no idea…you don't know even half the things I've been through these few days! You have NO idea what how difficult this has been for me!! You haven't seen her for a year! I saw her everyday and I didn't even notice she was being abused! I was too bloody busy to notice she was being hurt! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW that MADE ME FEEL? Me Harry Potter, the vanquisher of Voldemort but not even able to protect the people I love. Not even able to protect my best friend! And you're right; I'm the one who introduce Hermione to Roger. That was the biggest mistake of my life." Draco was quiet now, fuming but stunned, he had never seen Harry like this. Harry lowered his voice; it was barely over a whisper. "I just wanted her to be happy. That's all. I just wanted my best friend to be happy. And now she's stuck in a hospital with dark poison running through her blood." Harry shook his head. "And…And the reason I couldn't tell you was…I knew how you would react, and I was afraid you'll do something dangerous…And Hermione made me promise not to tell anybody."

"Hermione made you promise….?" Draco whispered softly, stunned.

"She said that she didn't want anyone to be scared. But it wasn't that. I could feel that that wasn't the reason." Harry's eyes had a sad look in them. "Do you know how hard this has been for me? This is the most difficult thing that has ever happened to me; do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? Her baby's dead, and I can't tell her that. I can't even look her in the eye."

"Hermione, poison in her blood?" Ginny whispered finding her voice, clearly taken aback. She was just sitting there, mouthing the words over and over again silently, as if she was in a trance.

Draco was shocked at the sorrow in Harry's voice. He calmed down a bit. "She knows mate." He said sensitively. He thought his friend should have a little load off his shoulders. "What? She knows what?"

"She knows Harry. She knows her child is dead."

"How do you know?"

"She told me. She told me everything; about how Roger was using her, about him dislike for Hermione's child. Mudblood baby he said." Cold fury was laced into his words now, the phrase "Mudblood baby" burned in his brain.

"He said WHAT!!!? The piece of crap, the son of a bitch…" Harry let out a stream of colorful curses. "You didn't know?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"No, she never told me. Oh, he's going to get it. I'll get him if it's the last thing I do." His eyes blazed with the same mad glint he had years ago, when they were hunting Voldemort and his followers down.

"Hermione has poison in her blood? What poison? How? What happened? Harry, tell me what's happening!!" Ginny had snapped out of her trance now. She shook Harry roughly. "When were you going to tell me? When Hermione is good and dead?" She shrieked, visibly shaken. She had obviously not heard a word they had said. Harry looked at her in bewilderment and Draco was surprised at this new piece of information.

Harry suddenly understood what Ginny was so angry at, and his face took the same hollow look he had moments ago, before it burned with anger. He sighed, and shook his head, as if he was trying to shake away all his thoughts. He'd been in denial for so long; the words couldn't come out of his mouth. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "This is what I was trying to tell you earlier, Ginny, before Draco arrived.

Can you sit down please? And Draco, if the report has reached you, then you already know."

Ginny sat down, clenching her fists. "What report? And you better have a good reason for not telling me, do you understand?"

Harry rubbed his eyes. His head felt like it would split in half from the headache he had. "The report the wizard, who found Hermione, had given the Ministry. He did that before I could put the privacy conditions into action. But luckily no one read the report, besides Edwards, who took the information, and Draco. You did read it did you?"

Draco nodded. "But I haven't been able to read the rest of the file yet. I wanted to visit the victim first. You issued privacy conditions?" Ginny looked back and forth at the two Aurors. They were, like they were used to, going completely into work mode. Work mode meant that the two men would only speak in insensitive terms like 'victim' instead of 'Hermione', and Ginny, whose father used to be in the Ministry, understood these terms perfectly. She also understood why they did it. It helped ease the pain, and helps their concentration on a particular case. Even if referring to the victim as an inanimate object sounds cruel and heartless, it was the only thing that kept them going, the only thing that helped them live. Seeing corpses everyday and dealing with hysterical mourners all the time can test a person's sanity.

"Yes. You see, Ro…the perpetrator doesn't know that Her…the victim is still alive, and if he knew, he'd go after her. She is a witness against him after all. The healer isn't allowed under wizard law to tell anyone except the family of the victim."

"Enough of this! Harry, stop trying to avoid the subject." Ginny stood up.

Harry couldn't look at her. "The poison? From the dagger? Weren't they able to heal Hermione from it?" Draco asked, his eyes turning a dark stormy gray, as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Poison? Dagger?" Ginny said weakly, to no in particular. Both of them, the redheaded woman and the pale haired man, looked expectantly at Harry. Harry held his head. _This headache is unbearable! My head will explode; I can't take this any longer!_

"Dobby…" Harry called in a cracked voice.

"Yes, sir. Master is wanting anything, sir?" Dobby suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Just…get me anything for this bloody headache please."

"Right away, Harry Potter, sir." Dobby disappeared, to come back moments later with a weird looking herb and a glass of water.

"Eat that and Harry Potter's headache will disappear."

"Thank you Dobby." Harry put the herb in his mouth, without even inspecting it, and swallowed the water in one gulp. His head cleared immediately. _How am I supposed to tell them this when I can't believe it myself? _He looked at them, his wife and one of his closest friends, each waiting for news that would probably tear his heart, and fill hers with grief. Harry's heart had already done both. He took a deep breath. "Hermione…" His voice cracked. "The Healer talked to me this morning, after they received the results of the tests they did on Hermione. She told me that the test results were very grave and if Hermione's state of mind continues as it is… The knife Hermione was stabbed with was covered in a dark poison. When she was…the poison usually has a cure, but in this case it was accompanied by a spell. The poison now runs in Hermione's blood."

He couldn't look at them. He looked at the floor, at the ceiling, at his hands, anything but them. Ginny was silent, a tear running down her face. Draco looked deep in thought. "(NAME OF DEATH OF LOVE IN LATIN). The spell was activated when he stabbed her seven times. Of course. But the counter curse was never found. The only known thing about this mysterious poison was that it killed all feeling in the heart." Draco mumbled to himself. Harry heard him and looked up. "Yeah, that's right. How did you know?"

"It's a Dark Arts spell, invented by a fanatic pureblood, one of my ancestors. The poison by itself is as any other poison, but paired with certain steps and Muggle blood, there's now escape from it. Except by one way…no, no it can't be." Draco said softly.

"Roger did all this? Roger put a spell on Hermione? Roger called Hermione's baby- their baby- a 'mudblood's child'? The son of a…the piece of dung. The bastard! Oh he will pay! He will pay!" Ginny stood up again, rage taking over her mind and body. She brandished her wand dangerously. Draco was pulled out of his thoughts by the last phrase, and it sent him seething inside. Harry, hearing those words, felt an ocean of emotions wash over him, guilt, anger, grief, fury…all theses made him go hot and cold and he repeated Ginny's words inside his head. _He won't just pay! He will be tortured for every little wound, every bout of pain Hermione felt! He messed with the wrong people. No one did that to Hermione and got away with it. _The three people thought simultaneously. In a moment of rage, they all strode to the door, wands out, eyes glittering dangerously. Ginny, the first to get there, pulled open the door, to find a bewildered Tonks just about to knock. She took one look at the three friends, and figured out the immediately. She pushed Ginny in, and magically locked the door behind her. She was suddenly charged at by three angry people protesting. "Tonks, what the hell are you doing? Open this door right now! You don't understand anything!" A furious Ginny screamed, her face the color of her hair. Draco and Harry glowered at Tonks, their wands dangerously positioned at Tonks' throat. "Sit down! All of you! You're not going anywhere."

"We're not kids, Tonks. We're adults, and responsible for our own actions. Now get away from that door or I'll curse you to oblivion." Draco threatened icily. Tonks glared at him. "Sit down Draco! That's an immediate order! This means you too Harry. If you don't sit down and shut the bloody hell up, you're both suspended."

Furious exclamations burst from Harry and Draco's mouths. With one warning glare from Tonks, they glumly sat down. She was their superior in the end.

Ginny kept on standing. "You can't go like this, unprepared." Tonks began. "Unprepared for what? We have all the necessary curses we need."

"Are you aware of his location? Or Roger's real name, if he was under an alias? Or if he had any supporters or partners? If he was the man responsible, or is there someone behind it all? Who's his next victim, if he had one, or was Hermione the only one? And think of Hermione. You can't just go of cajoling and leave her alone. She needs you now more than revenge." Tonks stated sensibly.

"_That's what made her Head of department." Draco thought_.

Silence. Ginny was glaring at Tonks. "I thought so. Now, Molly's with Hermione at the moment. I came to discuss the privacy conditions. Harry, you know that we can't keep this information for long. The Minister's already pressing me for information about the new attack."

Harry seemed a bit distracted from his recent fury, and he frowned. "I'm aware of that, but I was hoping to keep Hermione's escape a secret as long as possible, at least until it's safe enough to move her from the hospital. I also want to find a safe enough place and fix it up just in case of emergencies or a leak to the press or something. A place where that bastard can't get her, where he can't find her." Harry thought hard.

_I know a place…but I can't. Draco, don't be selfish for once and think of Hermione. She's more important than you feeling awkward_

"I know a place." Draco suddenly said, making his mind up

Harry and Tonks immediately stopped their discussion and peered at Draco, waiting for him to complete. Draco ruffled his hair.

"Malfoy Manor."

"Malfoy Manor?" Ginny asked, finally speaking.

"Yes, Malfoy Manor. It's unplottable and has all sorts of protection spells and curses on it. I removed most of the curses, but one or two had such powerful Dark Magic I couldn't even try."

"Why all the protection?"

"My father." Draco answered simply.

Tonks nodded. "The Malfoy Manor is perfect. It has enough rooms to ensure that we can make Hermione comfortable. I think we should fix it tonight, the sooner the better."

Harry nodded. "All the hospital equipment can be magically transferred to there."

Draco stood up, happy to have something to do. He walked to the door. "Shall we go now?"

"Yeah." Tonks followed him. She pulled out her wand, muttered something, and the door clicked. She opened the door and walked outside, Draco following her. "Wait, stop! Draco!" Ginny called. They stopped and Draco looked back.

"You should come back here, ok? Merlin knows what you would do in that big lonely mansion of yours. So bring your stuff here, because you're sleeping the night." Ginny half-ordered, half requested.

"Blimey! She could really be a drill sergeant, do you know that?" Draco whispered to Harry in awe. "Now you tell me? I've been married two years to her. Imagine that!" Harry whispered back.

I heard that Harry!" Ginny put her hands on her hips in imitation of Mrs.Weasley. "So Draco, what do you say?"

"My pleasure, Mrs. Potter. Just keep the table away from the fireplace, so when I come back I don't trip on it." Draco commented, with a ghost of a smirk on his handsome face.

And they went out to Malfoy Manor.

**A/N: Heya ppl! I hope you like this chapie better than the one before it. Personally, I liked it (the old chapie), I think it reflects me, but when I reread it, it doesn't fit with the story. So I edited some things. Enjoy! I promise future chapters will definitely be happier. And this is one looong chapter. Don't be afraid to tell me your comments.**

"**Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" Mirror of Erised. (my favorite quote.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. I was depressed with my writing for a while and decided not to write. (in other words I got writer's block and it doesn't look like it's gonna go away) So excuse me if this chapter sucks. I honestly squeezed my brain to write every word. Hope you like it. Many thanks to the all the people at school who supported me and this utterly depressing (not to forget badly written) fanfic of mine from the beginning and made me feel like a real writer. You know who you are guys. (for all the people out there who actually care, their names are mentioned in my previous chapters.) Thanks to all the people who reviewed: rebelwilla, kitsune tails, silidons, molly, this-recurring-dream, min, and lily1121 for putting me in her faves. You guys make all the trouble worthwhile. Ok, I've stalled enough. On with the story then………**

**Chapter 6**

_Draco stumbled down the dark forest path, gasping for breath. His wand was out in front of him, giving him what faint light it could, lightening the darkness. He stopped for a moment, leaning on a tree. Suddenly, his acute hearing caught footsteps carefully treading the ground. He crept towards the sound, his eyes glinting dangerously. Between the branches, the moonlight fell on a cloaked stranger, one with his head covered with a hood and his face covered with a black mask so Draco couldn't see who it was. Draco didn't know why he was chasing the stranger through the dark woods; he just knew that he had to. He walked his way softly, making sure he was well hidden behind the trees, watching him as he pulled out something that glimmered in the moonlight. Draco's heart dropped when he saw it was a sharp dagger covered in blood. For some reason that made him all the more determined to get to the stranger and unmask him. He was getting closer…closer…the mysterious man was no more than a meter away from Draco when…_

_**Craaaaaack! **The man jumped, and starting looking furtively around him. He stuffed the dagger into his pocket and pulled his wand out. Draco cursed under his breath; he had stepped on a twig and broken it.** Damn my eternal bad luck.**_

_Deciding quickly, Draco was in front of the stranger, his wand out and pointed straight at the man's heart in one swift movement. The stranger's dark eyes, the only thing showing from his mask, flickered with fear for a moment, then turned into a mocking glare. _

"_Who are you?!" Draco asked; his voice menacingly low, threateningly calm. The stranger cackled evilly. "Who are you?!" Draco repeated, this time louder and angrier. The stranger cackled again. "I killed her Mudblood baby, the filthy piece of dung." The stranger hissed, his voice oozing with venom. Draco's face flushed, and he leapt on the man with a growl, pushing him to the ground. His strong hands quickly secured themselves on the man's neck, his wand forgotten. "You filthy son of a…you git, you will pay for that! You will pay for that!" The man's cocky attitude quickly evaporated, and fear was evident in his eyes. He wildly groped for his wand but Draco was too strong for him. Draco stopped strangling the man for a moment to pull off the mask. It was…it was Roger! Draco stood stunned for a moment. Roger used Draco's moment of shock to pull out the bloody dagger out of the folds in his cloak. He pushed Draco and raised the dagger…All of a sudden; Draco was thrown away. A hooded shape was in his place on the floor, a…a **woman**, Draco realized with a jolt. She had a beautiful face, a face Draco knew so well…yet he couldn't remember who it was. Her chocolate brown eyes were rimmed with long, beautiful lashes, and her face had a sort of…regal air to it, pride and honesty showing in her eyes. But as Draco peered closer, he noticed she had dark circles under her eyes, and her pride seemed to be broken. She also seemed to have a bit of a bump where her flat stomach should be. **She's pregnant**, Draco realized. Then suddenly his heart plummeted to his boots**. Hermione**. The figure Roger was now towering above was Hermione. Draco felt his whole body go numb for a second._

"_You Mudblood! You're going to die!" Roger hissed in Hermione's ear. Draco thrashed around; trying to free himself from the invisible wall that suddenly sprung to separate Hermione from Draco. He could still see everything and hear every word, but for some strange reason, he couldn't reach the two figures standing in front of him. He watched as Hermione struggled against the bonds that snaked around her body with battered and bruised arms and feet. Her whole body looked like as if it had been pricked by a thousand knives. Tears fell on his face, as he felt Hermione's pain. She looked at him pleadingly… Draco watched Roger mutter some words under his breath in a constant stream. **Incantation**, Hermione's brain told Draco. He was hearing her thoughts? The dagger shone for a moment with a sickly green glow, then turned back into its bloodied state. Draco realized with a start that the dark red fluid on the dagger wasn't blood, no it was too dark. It was sort of reddish black. Draco watched as a drop fell from the dagger and dropped onto a leaf. The green leaf immediately shriveled up to nothing but a pitiful yellow thing; as if the fluid had sucked out all the life from the leaf. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Draco struggled against the invisible barrier. He had to help Hermione!_

"_You know too much. Your use is over. I don't need you anymore. It won't be like anyone would care about a thickheaded Mudblood like you, will they? Then I will fulfill the wish of my mother, without any of your meddling." Roger hissed, spitting in Hermione's face._

_He raised the dagger high above his head and brought it down, directly on the bump, Hermione's baby….._

"NOOOOO!!!…." Draco woke up, his whole body sweating. He panted heavily. Looking at the darkness around him, he sighed. It was all a dream. A nightmare more like. _Where am I? This isn't my bed._ He groped in the darkness for his wand. "Lumos." Draco muttered, causing the wand to light up and enabled him to see his surroundings. _Oh, right, I'm at Harry's. _He rubbed his head, tousling his hair even more.

"Master Draco is wanting anything sir?" Tillie, one of Draco's house elves and the eldest and most faithful of the lot, was standing over Draco, her round face shining with anxiety. Draco backed away, as she had sneaked up out of nowhere carrying a candle. "Yes, Tillie. Bring me a glass of the Calming Draught. I sure to hell need it." Draco had brought Tillie with him when he went with Tonks to fix up one of the rooms at the Manor for Hermione's safe keeping. The elf nodded obediently and exited the room. Draco wiped his glistening brow, and put a hand to his furiously beating heart. He didn't know what had happened and his brain was mixed up. He had went to sleep thinking about how to catch Roger, and his mind had flitted momentarily to the case, and he remembered wondering if Roger and the Muggleborn serial killer was one person before nodding of to sleep. But what did his dream mean? He remembered running through a forest, following a masked and hooded figure, and finally seeing Hermione. The last part was what had really freaked him out. He had seen Hermione, crushed and helpless, battling the pain bravely, and couldn't do a single thing. A single tear trailed its way down his pale, handsome face and he wiped at his face furiously. He shook his head_. Focus, Draco. You can't afford to lose your concentration. Think, Roger dead. Roger must die. Roger must go._

"Here's potion sir. Master is wanting anything else sir?" Tillie appeared, with the much needed Calming Draught potion. Draco grabbed it and swallowed it in one whole gulp. He immediately felt its soothing effect on his messed up nerves. "No thank you Tillie. You may go now." Draco dismissed Tillie with a regal wave of his hand. Tillie bowed low, and scuttled out of the room noiselessly.

Draco, now calmed down, closed his eyes and drifted to a dreamless sleep, his mind numbed by the effects of the potion…

Tick tick tick…tick tick tick…tick tick…

"Ohgotobloodyhell." Draco mumbled from between the sheets and pillows. An owl was tapping the glass window, patiently waiting for Draco to pay for the newspaper it held.

Tick tick tick…tick tick tick…

"OhforGodssakesomeonepaydabloodybird…" The effects of the Calming potion seemed to be wearing off and Draco had one hell of a temper in the morning. He opened his eyes a little to be blinded by the bright sunlight streaming from the window. _That's odd; the l---- was usually delivered at dawn._ "Tillie!" Draco raised his head a little. _Where was that blasted elf?_ "Tillie!"

"Yes master Malfoy." Suddenly Tillie showed up from nowhere, giving Draco a near heart attack.

"For the last time, do NOT do that!" Draco exclaimed. _What a lovely day this is turning out to be._ He thought wryly.

"Yes Master Malfoy, Tillie means no harm. Tillie will insure next time to not surprise Master Malfoy."

"To hell you will. Now I want you to pay that blasted owl. Is breakfast ready? What time is it?" Draco's stomach grumbled. "And bring me another glass of the Calming Draught, I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

"Yes sir. Right away Master. But is Master sure he wants Tillie to bring him another potion? Tis' not good to drink two glasses of it in a day master surely knows. And breakfast is ready. It's half past seven, Master Draco."

"Yes I'm not an idiot! Just get me the blasted potion now, know one needs to hear your views on potions! Now get out of my sight!" Draco snapped. The last thing he needed now was a house-elf telling him what to do! And Calming Draughts didn't take away the pain, they just numbed them temporarily.

Tillie vanished as stealthily as she had come in.

_Wait a minute, 7:30? Hmmm…I had something at eight, but what could that be? Oh that blasted elf, where's my potion? _

Draco stood up, shaking his head. He was wearing nothing other than a pair of black silk boxers. He felt a full blown headache on the way, the reality of what he had dreamed yesterday had hit him rather hard after such a long time of numbness. He dragged himself to the bathroom. Washing his face, he paused for a second to see his reflection. His pale skin had a gray tinge to it, and his stormy gray eyes had a haunted look in them, a haunted look that hadn't been there yesterday. He dried off his face and stepped outside.

"Here is your potion Master Draco!" Piped the tiny elf, carrying a goblet full of something steaming. _Good bye headache._ "Thank you Tillie. You can leave now." Tillie scurried out of the room as fast as her legs could.

Without a second to waste, Draco had drunk the contents of the goblet in one gulp. He waited for a few minutes for the potion's effect to kick through. _Ahhhh…there it is. Oh what a marvelous morning!_ In a few seconds, Draco had forgotten the potion and the dreams already… Grabbing his robe from the closets, he went down stairs, following the smell of food. _Delicious! I haven't any food for a while_. Draco thought in his carefree attitude. He jumped the last steps of the stairs. He could hear sounds of a thud, and angry voices.

"No Harry stop!!" Suddenly a black blur pushed Draco aside. It seemed to be heading for the door. Draco scratched his head, completely unfazed. Ginny, clad only in a skimp nightgown and a robe thrown hurriedly on it, ran after the blur. _Oooh look at that…_ Draco unabashedly thought. He hummed to himself. Walking down towards the kitchen, he caught a glimpse of what was happening in the front hall. He stopped, a bit curious and edged towards the scuffle. A red-faced Harry was standing there yelling his brains out, while an equally harassed Ginny tried to reason with him, even though her face was the same color as her flaming red hair, and she was shaking from the rage. Dobby had blocked the front door. Draco did a double take on the scene in front of him, and chuckled quietly to himself. He didn't dare to laugh out loud, even in his calm state he knew that the angry couple in front of him was not to be crossed when angry. But he couldn't help himself; he burst out laughing. Harry was in his boxers! A green one with snitches zooming around…Two angry faces turned to him.

"What is your problem?" Ginny snapped; this close to hexing Draco, who was now rolling on the floor. Harry just took a deep breath.

"Hahaha…green boxers…hahaha…snitches…red hair…" Draco spluttered incoherently. Harry and Ginny were distracted from their heated argument for a moment to watch Draco, a confused expression on their faces.

"Draco, snap out of it! Have you been bloody drinking?" Harry asked disgusted with him. How could he laugh when Hermione was…when Hermione was…

"I'm going to kill the son of a bitch! I'm going to kill him when I find out who he is!" Harry muttered, heading for the door again. Ginny started. "You're not going anywhere Harry! You're in your _boxers_ for Merlin's sake!"

Meanwhile Draco had sobered up. "What are you talking about? We do know who he is." He asked.

"You know who he is! And you're just standing there?" Harry asked his voice a bit strangled. Ginny looked at him in a weird way.

"Of course I know who he is. You do too." Draco shook his head at the two expressions in front of him. Maybe _they_ were drunk. Maybe they just forgot. Well anyway, that's not going to trouble him. _Nothing_ could trouble him today. "Roger, you dimwits. Are you sure you're not pissed?"

"What? What has Roger got to do with all this?" Ginny asked, demanding an immediate answer.

"He's the one who attacked Hermione…blablabla?" Draco said nonchalantly.

Harry and his wife exchanged looks.

"Ok, mate now I know you're really drunk. What did you do, drink all the Fire-whiskies you could find?" Harry asked.

Ginny held his hand and guided him to the living room. She sat him one of the sofas, her compassion momentarily covering her rage. Harry softly followed, accioing himself a pair of worn jeans, now that he had come to mind and realized that he was really only in his boxers.

"Draco, I do realize that this…situation might have effected you the most, seeing as…as…you loved Hermione, but do you think getting insanely drunk is the best way to cope with it?" She asked, sounding like Mrs.Weasley. Harry pulled the jeans on, and sat, with a bare chest, his stomach muscles clenched with tension. He pulled out the DAILY WHATEVER from under him. He had brought it with him in his hurry to get to the hospital. Rereading the article that was splashed on the first page, he was oblivious to the talking session Draco was having with Ginny, where both of them were convinced that the other was drunk. Harry's brow creased as he saw the picture of a healthy, smiling Hermione wave at him. He reread the headlines yet again:

_MUGGLEBORN STABBED TO NEAR DEATH. _

_HARRY POTTER'S (BOY-WHO-LIVED) BEST FRIEND ATTACKED!_

He ground his teeth. Hermione was in danger, and here they were having a bloody therapy session. But what was really troubling Harry was who had leaked the information? He had made very specific instructions to preserve Hermione's privacy…What if Roger was at the hospital now…?

"Shut it you two!" Harry suddenly barked. "Come on we have to go to St.Mungo's now!"

Ginny looked up at Harry, and immediately knew what was on his mind. Draco on the other hand, looked unruffled. He was now reading the newspaper Harry had thrown in his frustration.

"Wicked…so Hermione's a star now? I bit she'll hate that! But won't that alert Roger that she's alive? He'll come after her now you know." Draco mentioned mildly, though somewhere deep in his mind something was niggling him. Harry watched him in disbelief ask he turned the paper. Draco would never act like this, unless…

"Draco, you haven't by any chance drunk any Calming Draughts have you?" Harry asked, watching Draco chuckle at the moving caricature on the third page.

"Yeah, a bit maybe." Draco answered offhandedly.

"How much is a bit?" Ginny asked tentatively, seeing what Harry was aiming at.

"Two full glasses I think." Draco answered.

"Two full…When?" Harry looked impatient.

"Oh, I don't know…one last night and one this morning? I had a hell of a dream, and a hell of a headache. What's it to you?" Draco answered in that same nonchalant tone. Ginny sighed. This was NOT the time for Draco to be drugged.

"Damn it Draco! You know what happens when you take two Calming draughts in less than twenty four hours better than anyone." Harry nearly yelled. It wasn't the perfect time for Draco to be in a semi-narcotic state. They had to move Hermione from St.Mungo's to Draco NOW, and it won't be any help with Draco eerily calm! The bell suddenly rang. Dobby rushed to open it. The three turned their heads and Mrs.Weasley quickly strode in, her face shining with worry, Tonks close behind. Harry nodded to Tonks and Mrs.Weasley; there wasn't the time for formalities.

"Oh what are we going to do? Charlie, Ron, and Luna are with her now. And the twins are furious for me not telling them. Everybody else understood , and Luna seems to think that I'm afflicted with Snobble Snorts, what the hell is that nobody knows, I don't know how she got to work in the department of Mysteries, and what are we going to do?!" Mrs.Weasley fretted, not stopping for breath once. It looked like she was on the verge of crying. Ginny went and hugged her mother, and Mrs.Weasley started sobbing. Tonks looked solemn.

"Harry, I put enough Aurors to protect her now, but I can't guarantee that that's enough. Edwards and Pike are working on finding the leak now, and I have sent orders to stop printing of all stories containing Hermione's name. I'm afraid we're too late though, and it's only a matter of time…"Tonks trailed away.

"We have to move her now! No number of Aurors will stop Roger. And besides, we still don't know if someone from the inside is helping him. Mum don't worry, I'll take care of Fred and George…_the idiots_…" Ginny tried to comfort her mum, and at the same time try to find out a solution to all this mess. Harry nodded his head at Ginny's suggestion.

"I take it that the Minister isn't too happy with me is he?" Harry asked Tonks.

"that's an understatement. He's gone ballistic."

"Well damn him. I don't care. As long as Hermione's safe, I don't care." Harry repeated firmly.

Draco lazily stood up. His sudden movement reminded everybody of his presence, and they all turned to look at him.

"Well, let's go get the girl. What are you all waiting for?" Draco commented, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

And for once, Harry agreed with him. Grabbing his clean robes from a rack, he quickly wore them, oblivious to his shirtless state. He picked up his wand, and waited for everybody to join him. The others quickly joined him, realizing that talking and moping around about the press leak wasn't going to help Hermione one bit. But they were all surprised when Draco took the wrong turn and…

"Draco? Err… the door's here. Not there, here." Ginny pointed out, emphasizing here.

"What do you think I am? An idiot? I'm not going out in my boxers! I'll leave that to Mister Potter here." Draco leaped the stairs three at a time.

Ginny started screaming at him till the house shook. "You idiotic halfwit, you imbecile! There's no time for you have your beautifying bath! Hermione is in DANGER…D-A-N-G-E-R! Draco, come back here! His mind can't be that gone can it?" She shrieked in frustration at Harry. Tonks turned to Harry, perturbed. "He didn't overdo himself with a Calming Draught potion did he?" She asked. Harry nodded.

Ginny was still cursing Draco under her breath, while Mrs.Weasley, tear streaked, still managed to look shocked at her daughter's language even in this moment of distress. Harry, thinking quickly, came up with a plan.

"Ginny and I will Apparate to St.Mungo's with Mrs.Weasley to sort things out. Tonks wait for Draco and then go immediately to Malfoy Manor. We'll bring Hermione there. It's the only solution we have, with Draco acting weird."

Tonks nodded, accepting her part of the plan. Dobby ran up to Ginny, giving her her pants. "Thanks Dobby."

"It's Dobby's pleasure miss." He answered, his ears flapping in delight.

Ginny quickly donned them under her billowing robes and strode out of the house behind Harry, with Mrs.Weasley holding her hand.

Tonks called Tillie to her.

"Tillie, I want you get ready now, we're going back to the Manor. Help Mister Malfoy in any way you can, ad get him here in less then a minute. Do you understand? This is important. Now go!" The house-elf quickly scurried out of sight. Dobby gave Tonks a glass of water. She sighed, sifting her fingers through her mousy limp hair, no longer bubbly pink, not after…No, she willed herself. She will not remember that. Never. But her heart ached for Draco. She thought she knew how he must have been feeling, and the double intake of a calming potion proved to Tonks that she was wrong. Draco was hurting even more than she thought. But it did slow things down, Draco being in a numb state. They needed him alert, not in a tranquil, infuriating attitude. And besides, Draco will only feel the pain three times over when the potion's effects fade.

She heard a step on the stairs behind her. The subject of her thoughts was strolling down the stairs, taking his time, with an insistent Tillie impatiently pushing him from the back.

"Come Master Draco, Miss Tonks says one minute. Tillie did not do as she was asked, no, Master Draco is a minute late." Tillie muttered, trying with all her tiny body's might to get Draco to move faster. Tonks' patience was being severely tested.

"No wait; I forgot my flask of potion." Draco drawled, turning back. Tonks couldn't contain her impatience anymore.

"Draco Alexander Malfoy, get down this instant! You don't need that damned flask; it's given you enough trouble already!" Tonks ordered. Draco continued up the stairs.

"Nymphadora, I won't take too long. Just a few more seconds. I need that flask." Draco explained calmly. Tonks exploded. After all she didn't take any potion, and one her best friends' life was threatened. A moment too late…No Tonks didn't want to be a moment too late. Not again. She took the matter into her own hands.

"Tillie, go to Malfoy Manor immediately." She ordered the elf, who looked hesitantly at her master.

"Oi, who are you to order my house elf around?" Draco stated it in a tone of confusion, more than anger. Nothing could anger him at this moment.

"Tillie, go. You're not in the state to order her around yourself. Tillie, I said go!" Tillie quickly Disapparated with a tiny pop, carrying a suitcase of Draco's clothes. Tonks held out her wand. "Levicorpus!" She thought in her head. Draco, to his amusement, was lifted in to the air, held by his ankle by an invisible force.

"So, where are we going? A picnic in the park? Oh, that reminds me, I have to go to Hyde Park at eight o'clock. Think you could fly me there?" He asked.

"We're going home. And it's already eight o'clock." Tonks growled, taking care to _accidentally_ bump his head on the door hinge.

"Hmmm… that's a shame. A whole team is out there, complete with a forensics expert, waiting for me to tell them to start investigating. Oh well, I suppose home is a good idea. The water here is freezing cold!" He shivered. Tonks smiled grimly, no a hint of humor on her face. She stepped out, and quickly walked to a car that was patiently waiting. She hopped into it, throwing Draco unceremoniously into the back seats, and revved up the engine. Pressing the invisibility button, she rose into the air, and quickly zoomed off to the direction of Draco's house. The car was experiment number two, started by Arthur Weasley, and when he died, finished by the twins, Fred and George, in memory of their father. They then gave it to their mother, and Molly and Tonks had flown to Harry's today in it. Molly didn't use it anyway, as she usually burst into tears every time she merely looked at the car. Tonks looked in the rearview mirror. Good, Draco had stopped fidgeting. Actually, he had become very somber. "This was Arthur's car wasn't it?" He asked softly.

"Yes it... was." Tonks answered, sadness filling her voice. They had lost many important people, many dear friends, in the war. Many close to the heart…

"He was a great man."

Unknown to Draco, Tonks' eyes had filled with tears. She was almost in a trance when she muttered: "Yes, yes he was…"

**A/N: yawn I better go to sleep. It's 3 am in the morning and I can barely see Xavier anymore.(Xavier is my faithful laptop. It's also known as Kudai. Weird names I know, one of the reasons I chose those two names in the first place. Weird names for a weird laptop owned by a weirder person) Brrr…I'm freezing cold. See what I do for all you people? I forfeit my beauty sleep, my warmth, and my sanity to write this for you. What is that I hear? You want to repay me for all the trouble I went through to write this stuff? Easy, just press the ok button at the bottom of the page.(in other words, REVIEW please!) I really do appreciate all your comments and inputs. Oh, and I need suggestions with what to do with Roger. Adieus people! Till the next chapter then! **

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	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm so so so sorry for taking so long to update. I had final exams, then I went to Mauritius on holiday (did wonders to thy brain!) and then I was grounded from using internet for 2 months! Actually I'm still halfway through that punishment but I thought u guys are worth sneaking a few undetected minutes on the net. Ah, also I would like to mention that naufdude (my crazy though awesome really gr8 friend) has finally been convinced to post her story here by the name "Forbidden Love". Check it out it's way more awesome than my story (if I say so myself) and thisrecurringdream wrote a cool poem on Hermione and Draco's wedding "Their Love is Magic". I liked that poem a lot…**

**Ok I know I write long A/N's and I ramble too much and…on with the story: **

**Chapter 7**

This time, Tonks and Draco Apparated to the front of St. Mungo's instead of Flooing. Tonks thought it would be better, as Draco had still not snapped out of his drug-induced calmness, and he might accidentally on purpose decide to take a split second decision to go to Hawaii on holiday instead. Tonks purposefully strode towards the meeting point she and Shacklebot (pulled out of retirement) had set up. She kept a vigilant eye on Draco, but was suddenly distracted by a pair of overeager Aurors-in-Training. When she finally shook them off Draco was nowhere to be found! Tonks shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh. As if they didn't have enough to deal with!

She walked on; asking random passersby if they saw a platinum haired man anywhere. Almost everybody pointed to the left, and Tonks quickly took that route. She didn't have to search long to find a swaggering Draco; busy regaling two, young pretty nurses with stories from his adolescence years.

"And that, my ladies, is how I lost my virginity!" He finished triumphantly, oblivious of the glowering Tonks behind him. He gave the two nurses a charming smile, for which Mr. Draco Malfoy was famous for, reducing them into a fit of blushes and giggles. Tonks let out a growl and pulled Draco away.

"I take my eye of you one second! One second! I'm not your bloody mother Draco, so snap out of it!" She hissed in his ear.

"And thank Merlin for that Nymphadora. I hate to see what you would do to your children." He drawled, smirking when Tonks involuntarily winced at her name. He turned to the nurses. "She hates being called Nymphadora you know, absolutely abhors it! She insists on calling her with that Muggle name, To…on…" Draco never got to finish his sentence. Tonks had clamped her hands on Draco's arm firmly, and was dragging him furiously to the opposite way, to the meeting point. Draco tried to call after the nurses.

"Keep in touch! You know where to find me!" He shouted gaily, and the pretty girls blew him a few kisses, Satisfied, he turned to Tonks, who was making people jump out of her way in hurry from the look on her face.

"Why do you have to be such an uptight gloomy grump? I don't believe half the stories I've been told about you, though Ginny said you were a right laugh before."

Tonks stopped abruptly, and looked as if she'd been slapped.

"Before what? Ginny said before what?" She pushed him against the wall with a surprising strength. Draco only seemed mildly surprised at Tonks' change of mood.

"Before what??" She repeated gruffly. Draco shook away some dust that was coating Tonks' disheveled cloak.

"BEFORE WHAT FOR MERLIN'S SAKE?!!" Tonks yelled her patience at its end. "Before nothing. I don't know, Ginny never said anything. Before you had such bad fashion sense?" Draco ventured a guess, eyeing Tonks' shapeless colorless garb.

"Oh, Merlin, give me bloody patience!" Tonks was now unintentionally digging her nails into Draco's skin and was pulling him along at an alarming speed.

She looked around at the hospital rooms' numbers and stopped before room 204.

She opened the door to reveal the weirdest assortment of people you could find. An Auror pulled from retirement, a world famous ex-seeker, two twin self-made millionaires, a dragon trainer, and the Wizarding world's hero, the latter pacing the room furiously, and all of them standing in front a familiar male in nurse's garb who was seated in a chair in the middle of the room…

Tonks crossed the room in two strides, Draco strolling in behind her, a good-natured smile on his face. "Oi everyone! Long time no see!" No one smiled back. Draco took a step back, as the twins' faces were terrifyingly void of the usual impish smiles, and replaced with a murderous sneer that was directed at the male nurse. Draco suddenly remembered where he had seen him before! He was the nurse who directed Draco to Hermione's room the first time he came here! Why was he here, and why did every one look at him as if they would like nothing else than murder him?

"Did you catch him? Is that him?" Tonks asked Shacklebot. He nodded silently and Tonks' face quickly assumed the same expression everyone (but Draco) had on their face. Harry stopped pacing the room.

"Yes that's him. That's the rat that sold Hermione's blood for 200 galleons." He muttered viciously then continued pacing the room in silence. What little color the nurse's face had quickly drained away.

"I…I didn't…believe me…I would never…please! I wouldn't! I didn't know…If I did…I wouldn't…I wouldn't have dared! Honest! Please…you…you have to believe me!" The frightened man stammered.

Tonks looked at him in disgust. "Veratiserum?"

"Yes." Charlie answered this time.

"Had to force it down his disgusting throat though." Fred explained.

"It was absolutely enjoyable. Don't you think Fred?" George asked his brother.

"Wouldn't mind doing it again." Fred answered, a deadly edge to his voice.

"No wait, no need to do that just yet, its effects haven't gone yet." She turned to the nurse, who was now shaking like a leaf.

"Did you tell the Daily Prophet about Mrs. Granger's whereabouts?"

"I…I don't know any…er… Grangers, I only know the…the Mrs. Spinally…"

"Did you or did you not sell Hermione's secrets to the Daily Prophet for a sum of money?" Tonks rephrased the question.

"Yes." The nurse answered meekly.

"You knew about the Confidentiality Contract?"

"Yes…"

"Yet you breached it?"

"Yes…" The nurse's voice was getting smaller by the minute.

"Did you or did you not know the consequences of such an offense?"

"Err…sorry?" The poor man had a look of utter confusion as he tried to follow Tonks' question.

"Did you know what would happen when you breached such an important contract?"

"No…No I didn't! See that's what I've been trying to tell these gentlemen…I'm innocent, I swear!" His voice gave away his relief.

Various noises of disbelief were heard throughout the room. Tonks ignored them.

"Did the Daily Prophet come to you?"

"N…no I went to them." The pale faced nurse started getting worried again. This woman was asking worse questions than the other lot.

"On what basis did you go to them?"

"Pardon me?"

"Honestly how ever did you become a qualified nurse?" Tonks shook her head in frustration. First Draco, now this. Speaking of which, where was Draco? Tonks spun around wildly, forgetting about the idiot nurse for a minute. There was a sound of a toilet being flushed and then Draco stepped out of the hospital room's bathroom, to find everyone looking at him.

"What? Call of nature…you know." He explained, wiping his hands on the nurse's shirt. "There aren't any damn tissues anywhere. I couldn't even find a towel. You need to improve your service." He casually commented to the nurse. Everyone ignored him and turned to the nurse. Tonks continued her interrogation.

"Why did you go to the Daily Prophet? You must have known that some harm was bound to fall on Ms. Granger if we took all that trouble to keep everything confidential."

"I…I thought it was…err…because she…she was famous. You…you know, best friend of…of Harry Potter and all that." The nurse stammered his answer, anxiously looking at Harry. Though a low growl emitted from his throat, Harry acted like he heard nothing at all. Draco on the other hand, laughed like he had never heard anything funnier. The nurse forced a smile.

"I think a kip on the head would make him fine." George commented wryly, meaning Draco. "Nah, we should take him to a madhouse. I think that potion permanently affected his brain.

"Don't vorry, he'll haff the worst head pain ever. It is not an easy thing to overdose a Calming potion." A hawk-like figure emerged from the shadows, and the nurse gasped.

"Victor Krum? What are you doing here?" But it was Draco who talked.

"Enough of this small talk. Ve are vesting time. Shakleeboat, you can talk to this man later." Krum ignored Draco, which was what everyone was doing a lot of lately. Charlie stood up.

"Is it time?" He asked Tonks. Tonks checked the Muggle watch on her wrist. Krum was right. They were wasting a lot of time. She'll just have to interrogate the nurse at headquarters later. "No not yet." She answered. "We have to get rid of the vermin first." She took out a paper and jotted down a few words on it. Folding it into a paper plane, Tonks charmed it with a few choice words and sent it out of the room.

"They won't be long now." Tonks said to no one in particular, and sure enough, a few seconds later, two pops were heard. Two Aurors entered the room and silently took the nurse by each hand and carried him out of the room. The sounds of the nurse's pleading yells hung around the tense room and could be heard from the hall.

"I've seen this in a Muggle movie somewhere. Two silent men clad in black took a screaming prisoner to his death…" Draco muttered. The room's occupants looked at him in surprise. Draco Malfoy, fourth richest wizard, watched Muggle movies? Draco was too occupied to notice their surprised looks. Something was niggling at him in the back of his brain. He had an appointment…with somebody. But whom? And when? What time was it now anyway?

"What time is it anyway?" Draco asked out loud. Charlie was the one who answered him.

"Past midday." He answered, looking at the weird watch on his hand. Past noon?

Oh, right, the evidence team at eight! Draco had completely forgotten about that. Oh, well it's too late now. Better tell Tonks anyway.

"Err…Tonks?" Draco tried to catch the attention of the busy Auror, who was busy trying to talk to Krum about something.

"Tonks?" He tried again.

"What??" She snapped at Draco.

"I'm not telling you if you're acting so foul." He said airily.

"Draco, just get on with it, and stop acting like a ten-year-old!" Tonks nearly screamed.

Draco rolled his eyes at her. "Fine…no need too get all moody and angry for Merlin's sake. I just wanted to tell you that I ordered an investigation team at the crime scene at eight o'clock today, and I bloody forgot about that." Harry stopped pacing for a second.

"What crime scene?" He growled.

"Hermione's." Krum, Charlie, Fred and George all jumped at her name. Shacklebot frowned.

"What the hell for?!" Harry looked mutinous.

"To search for any leads. I didn't know it was Hermione at that time." Draco answered, in a tone that indicated that he thought Harry was an idiot.

"You brainless git! I didn't let them go for a reason! I could strangle you…" And Harry looked like he was thinking of doing just that.

All good humor in Draco disappeared. Mr. Malfoy did _not_ like being called a git, not even under the influence of the potion he took.

"I didn't know it was Hermione at that moment, you numbskull. Since _you_ didn't tell me. So I did what I had to do since I can't know what's going on in your twisted brain. I don't have to _consult_ your royal highness on everything. And don't _ever_ call me a git." He drawled, a cold calmness replacing his lighthearted tone. Iciness settled on the room, and Harry glared at Draco while the latter merely looked down his nose at Harry. Shacklebot moved in between them.

"Cut it out you two. Harry, this increased viciousness isn't helping. What happened is over, you can't change the past. And it's not your fault. Draco, grow up! Or in this case, please get out of this infuriating state you've over "calmed" yourself into…You can't keep on taking Calming Draughts for the rest of your life." Shacklebot stated in calm, but commanding manner. It had its effect on both men, as Harry started pacing the room again and Draco sat down. The rest of the group sighed; it was hard enough trying to pull of a deadly escape without a high Draco and a angst-filled Harry.

They all settled in silence again, constantly checking their watches. Draco began to get bored. Whatever they were doing was dull. Draco checked his watch too, just for the sake of it. _They all seemed to be waiting for something, _Draco thought. The part of his brain that was not numbed told him that they were waiting for the unfolding of a plan. His instincts, that could never be numbed, told him it was dangerous, and risky. A brilliant one too…He had overheard the twins whisper something about Luna being prepared…but for what? Draco's natural curiosity was beginning to overwhelm him. Tonks said that Luna, Ron, Bill and Mrs. Weasley were with Hermione. Fleur was somewhere else…Draco missed what Charlie was saying. What were Fleur and Krum doing here anyway? What could Luna have concocted? She might seem completely crazy but behind that lurked a brilliant genius that headed the Department of Mysteries, and actually solved a few of those mysteries. Draco was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't hear the conversation going on behind him…

"Are the decoys set up?" Tonks whispered to Shacklebot.

"Done. Everyone is in position." He answered back. She saw her checking on Draco. "Why won't you tell him??"

"He's not in his right state of mind. Besides we have enough on our hands with Harry, imagine what Draco would do if he knew!" Tonks hissed. "He still loves her…what he's doing to himself proves it…" She continued softly.

Shacklebot looked at her silently and saw the pain in her eyes. He could never understand what she was going through, but he could imagine. Tonks saw the pity in his face and turned away, embarrassed that she forgot herself for a moment. She checked her watch and jumped.

"It's time!" She said curtly, causing the rest to jump up, and Harry to stop pacing. Draco looked on happily. _Ah, finally! This is what they're all waiting for…_

Harry sighed and looked at Tonks. "It's the only way Harry." Was the answer he received. He nodded grimly to Krum, who left the hospital room silently. Fred and George went and waited by the door. Suddenly frantic screams were being heard! Draco was puzzled. It sounded like Krum was torturing somebody! But it seemed to be the signal the twins were waiting for, as they left the room carrying black briefcases in their hands Draco hadn't noticed before. A few moments later, the hall they were in went dark! Tonks took Draco's hand and pulled him to the door. Draco stumbled in the darkness and cursed out loud.

"Bloody hell! Where did all the bloody lights go?!" He cursed, as he fell headlong to the floor. Tonks smiled to herself. The potion seemed to be wearing off…

They went like that for ages, or it seemed like that to Draco anyway. Tonks seemed to see in the dark, while Draco felt like he was covered in bruises, and his head started throbbing painfully. He seriously needed a Calming Draught, and he tried to convey that to Tonks very noisily.

"ARE YOU A BRAINLESS IDIOT? I SAID I NEED IT NOW! NOT LATER, I NEED A CALMING DRAUGHT NOW! OR I WILL HEX YOU TO OBLIVION!" He stated, very, _very_ loudly.

"_Silencio_." Tonks watched in amusement as Draco protested silently. She suddenly stopped at a door. "Get in." This was the critical part of the whole plan. If this didn't go right, then…Tonks didn't even want to think about it. She quickly closed the door after her, and waiting there were Luna, Harry and Ron, with a sleeping Hermione floating on a bed next to them! Draco stopped trying to scream himself hoarse, the signs of utter confusion dawning on his face. "He…what…How did Harry…" But of course all that the others saw was Draco's mouth trying to shape silent words.

"Oh, dear I forgot! I believe I'll have to un-silence him so he can take us to Malfoy Manor, don't I?" Tonks took out her wand and quietly preformed the counter-jinx. Ron grinned a crooked smile. "I take it that whatever he took is wearing off?" He asked. Tonks nodded.

"What a pity! I could've taken it with him, the bloody bastard." He commented dryly. His usually robust face was so pale that his freckles stood out. On the other hand Luna will always stay the same Luna. She turned to an incredulous Draco and surveyed him with dreamy eyes.

"I hope the Crimp horned Snargles haven't nested in your brain! They can be very hard to get rid of, you know." She mentioned in a faraway voice. Draco was going to ask her what exactly is a Crimp horned Snargle when she continued. "You get an infection when you read a lot of those explicitly detailed cheesy romance books and get dirty thoughts afterward. The Snargles grow on these thoughts." She wagged a disapproving finger at Draco, who was looking aghast. Tonks saw that the thought of Draco reading a romance book was amusing.

"I'd love to hear more about your theory luv, but we need to move. Bill's signal will come any moment now…" Ron looked around.

"Why is it taking so long? Something must have happened." Harry predicted grimly, his wand the one holding up Hermione's floating hospital bed. The bed was encased in a halo of light, no, more like a bubble, Draco noted. He went to touch the bubble, when all four people screamed "NO!" Draco recoiled, surprised at their sudden alarm. They were so engrossed at checking the bubble for faults that they didn't notice a werewolf Patronus enter the room. Draco went to it and petted it. "Someone sent a Patronus." He mentioned to the others. Tonks straightened up. "Hurry, hurry that's the signal! We have no time!" She motioned to the others to gather in a circle. "Draco, I want you to let us through the Malfoy Manor protection spells. This is important. It is crucial that you recite the master incantation out loud! Do understand me?"

Draco nodded. This was easy as he's known how to perform that spell ever since Malfoy Manor passed into his ownership three years ago. Ever master of the Manor knew how to.

Harry was muttering under his breath. He was tracing a circle with his wand around the circled group with Hermione in the middle, leaving a circle of shimmering light. Now it was Luna's turn. She had an ancient book with her, and she read aloud a spell. She took out a knife and cut the tip of her finger. A drop of blood came out and fell on the circle. Now they were incased in a halo of light that Draco recognized as the same one that was protecting Hermione. Luna continued on murmuring. This was ancient magic. Draco could feel its power now as it came to life. But why were they using ancient magic when they could have just flooed her out of here? Something didn't make sense, and Draco's head was threatening to split open as the reality of what had happened the past few days and what they were doing now sunk into him again tenfold as worse as before…

"Now Draco. Say it now!" Tonks whispered. Harry had joined the circle now. Draco clutched his aching head and tried to focus.

_Open, noble house of Malfoy for your Master, and let all those worthy of me to pass._

Nothing happened.

_Go. I, Malfoy heir, order you to let my guests to pass._

What was wrong? Draco tried again and again in all the versions he could think of. Nothing happened! The halo of light around Hermione was getting weaker and the sound of footsteps was getting closer to the room. Everyone's face was screwed in concentration_. I can't let them down. I can't let Hermione down…_

Draco tried again and again, but with no avail. Images of a dead Hermione loomed in his mind. He couldn't concentrate any more. In a fit of frustration he yelled out it out loud. "I order you to open now!" Suddenly the halo of light began to tremble and a power surged through Draco. He opened his eyes to see and a flash happened that blinded him, and the whole world went black….

**A/N: yawn I better go to sleep. Xavier's screaming at me to take a break and I just misspelled a few major words (gulp). Even the wizard guy, the Microsoft office assistant's gone to sleep! Which indicates I must go to sleep, or I'll start speaking gibberish (aye nauf??) I hope you liked this chapter (I thought it wasn't that good, my chapters are getting worse by the minute. Actually I think it's quite terrible, especially the last part. I'm sorry I left you with a cliffhanger. You will find out how our heroes escaped , and why they had to do it this way soon. ). I also want to thank Mawii for checking out all my spelling (writing while sleep-deprived almost always ensures a loss of a few important brain cells). And everyone out there who reviewed:**

**rebelwilla, kitsune tails, silidons, tractorgirl13, thisrecurringdream, min, lily1121, lulu, aya, maria, mawii, Nauf (or naufdude. don't forget 2 read her fanfic!), inlovewtihbubblegum, Amaterasu Kinesi(who gave me an uplifting review.thnx!),pstibbons,dracoisthesexiestmanalive,and grace. i hope i haven't 4gotten anyone...**

**Or put me in their favorites and their alerts:**

**Jeje, lily1121,inlovewithbubblegum, naufdude, MotorMouthMili, Amaterasu Kinesi,dracoisthesexiestmanalive,PenguinGoddess,silidons,elvinstar1180,obsgirl24,patinou80,pstibbons,rebelwilla,this-recurring-dream,x0xSlytherin Ice Princessx0x. It means a lot 2 me!**

**Or just took the time to check out the story! Please R&R I could use a little feedback… (pwease?) and again, I'm sooo sorry 4 taking this long to update.**

**Ps: happy birthday Mawii!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: There! I had to pull off a miracle to get this written and posted, but I wanted to update in time for my birthday (March 21) which marks my sixteenth year on the face of this lovely planet called earth. Hope you like chapie 8 more than the rest, it's a bit more intense and serious than the previous chapters were. Why the hell am I blabbering? Read on and you'll find out yourself…**

**Chapter 8**

Draco ran his hand through his hair and looked at the sleeping image lying on his bed. A frustrated sigh escaped from his throat.

_Am I dreaming?_ He asked himself, longing to reach out and stroke the deep brown curls spread out on the pillows, to caress the ebony skin, to hold the twitching body haunted by memories…

The wall to wall window was open, allowing a soft breeze to carry in the sweet scent of flowers into the room, courtesy of the Malfoy Manor's beautiful garden. Draco watched as it gently rustled the curtains and lifted the gloom that seemed to settle on the lavishly decorated room, debating whether to close the window or leave it open. Looking at the gray tinge that had robbed Hermione of her rosy color, he chose to leave it. It might coax some color back into her cheeks, he thought. She must feel baked in those sheets anyway; Mrs. Weasley must have used every blanket in the house…

Draco sighed again, a sigh of longing and despair and something else he couldn't quite place, dropping into the antique armchair opposite the huge four poster bed. He couldn't bring himself to sit any closer.

He couldn't bring himself to leave her either. And ever since he had awoken and was brutally hit by reality, finding the house completely deprived from any sedatives, he wasn't able to…he couldn't stop the beating of his frantic heart. He couldn't remove the image of Hermione, hurt and broken, from his aching head. He couldn't think, he couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep…How could he when the past few days, the past few years, every memory kept replaying in his mind, renewing the wounds and the pain in his heart? He shouldn't have gotten hooked up on potions. It just made everything ten times worse. It awakened memories that had been tucked away and forgotten, making you feel guilty and cowardly for not being able to deal with pain. Every time he closed his eyes the nightmares would spring to life, and he'd see his mother dying again, Hermione, Blaise, so close to death, Snape being tortured again and again, and Draco helpless, unable to save any of them. He would thrash around the couch in the sitting room next to Hermione before awaking in full sweat, his pulse raising and the memories fresh in his head. Induced to insomnia, he wandered the mansion's hundreds of rooms, trying to run from reality…looking from something to numb him to insensibility, but he found nothing.

He had blacked out during the transferal to Malfoy Manor, and his meddlesome friends had used that time (in incredible foresight) to remove every single tranquilizer that they could find, even the Muggle painkillers he was using in the Muggle born case. The numerous house elves had been bullied into not helping Draco procure any of the sedatives too. All that was left were the emergency potions in the dungeons that were of no use to Draco in what he wanted. Any sedatives for Hermione was with under lock and key with Ginny, who had moved in and taken control of the house, acting as Hermione's nurse. A trusted Healer would come once a day to check up on Hermione, who still hadn't awakened. The transferal from St. Mungo's was couple of weeks ago, and Draco had given up yelling and shouting in the house, and given in to the fact that this was, in fact, for his own good. He confined himself to the library and Hermione's rooms, which were previously Draco's. He had insisted in using his rooms for Hermione, and wouldn't hear of anything else. He walked around looking like a member of the living dead, the color his short spell had given him driven away, and his normally silky platinum blonde hair standing on one end, spending his time either at the library, feverishly researching, or gazing at Hermione in silence. He hadn't seen the others in quite a while, it was too dangerous for them to come…it would lead Roger right to Hermione.

_I don't need you, and I never will…_that fateful day and those words played over and over again in Draco's mind as he watched Hermione turn around in her sleep. _If only I had made her stay. I should have done something…anything._ Now he had lost her forever. Draco had better keep his distance; he didn't want both of them to end up hurt. Hermione stirred again, whimpering softly. Draco broke out of his reverie and jumped up, ready to rush to her and take her into his arms, all thoughts of distance forgotten. But a few moments passed in silence, and Draco relaxed back in his chair. It was midnight now…Ginny had long since been forced to her room by Draco who insisted she rest, convincing her by telling her he wanted time alone sitting besides Hermione. In fact Draco was terrified of being alone with her. What if she woke up while he was there? He could barely breathe by just seeing her, how would he feel if she woke up and demanded some comfort? Or worse, burst into tears? _I'm barely in a state to comfort myself, let alone anybody else_, he thought wryly. And as for her bursting into tears, it would rip him apart! These past few haunting days had taken from Draco what broken strength he had. He was a mere shadow, blending into the background of his memories. Draco sat there, silent, unmoving, until the sleepless nights of the past two weeks caught up with him and he drifted off into a fitful doze…

Crash!

Draco suddenly woke up, alert. He slowly got up and went to inspect the noise. It had sounded a bit like shattering glass. What if Roger found them? Is Hermione okay? These and a dozen other questions crowded his mind as he crept towards the bed, his wand out.

"Lumos." He whispered, and his wand lit up, providing him with a faint glow.

Nothing was wrong with the windows, but he closed them all the same, so whoever had trespassed on his property couldn't escape. Draco was so focused on his search he didn't hear the faint voice that was calling out…

"Who's there?" The weak voice asked, a trace of fright lacing the voice.

"Who's there?" It asked again, louder this time, and Draco heard it. He whipped around and pointed his wand in the direction of the voice, and its light fell upon a pale, brown haired woman, her eyes open and fearful…and suddenly, all he could hear was his heart beating, fast and loud and deafening, in his ears. They stayed like that, suspended in time, just staring at each other, both illuminated by the pale light of the wand, until Draco remembered himself. He cleared his throat.

"Err…Do you need anything?" He asked, not able to make his legs move from their position.

"I…I…need water…" Hermione's voice sounded parched and trembling. Draco, his eyes on the floor, forced his legs to move towards the night table, where he knew Ginny always kept a pitcher of water. He found the pitcher shattered on the ground, the water spilled everywhere, and when he dared to look up Hermione had an apologetic glance in her eyes. This is what must have woken him up a few moments ago, and his tense muscles relaxed a bit. "Reparo." The broken glass flew back together. He flicked his wand and all the water disappeared.

"I…I'm sorry…I…just wanted…something to drink…and I couldn't reach the table…I didn't know anyone…" She stammered.

"Shhh…it's okay. It's alright…" Draco calmed her down, all the while keeping his eyes on the glass in his hands. "Here…" He held out the glass to her. She tried to carry it but her hand shook so much the water nearly spilled. Draco cursed himself and, breathing hard, steadied both of her hands with his big strong ones. A jolt passed through his arm, and his whole body felt as if it was on fire. He fought to keep his emotions under control. _Is this what she can do to me from one touch? _Draco thought. Her hands were clammy and cold under his. Draco kept looking at his hands and Hermione's intertwined together, not noticing that Hermione had finished drinking her water, not noticing the look of torment that passed her eyes. It seemed like ages until Draco pulled away… and when he did, Hermione's eyes were dull once more.

"I better go call Ginny then. She's better at this stuff than I am." He gave her a wry smile that went unnoticed in the feeble light. He backed away, stumbling on the footstools, unable to tear his gaze away from Hermione, now that he had finally looked. He nearly ran to the door, and he called for a house elf. "Tillie!"

There was a crack, and his faithful house elf appeared in front of him.

"Yes, Master?"

"Go call Ginny. Tell her Her…Her…Mrs…tell her our patient has awaken." He couldn't even bring himself to say her name. _Draco Alexander Malfoy, you are nothing but a shameless coward. Damn it! I should keep my bloody distance. She's going through a terrible time now and you shouldn't use it. Why not? Because it's wrong. What's so wrong about it? You might make her happy. I could never make her happy. She said so herself. _And that made that annoying voice in the back of his head shut up. He paced the hallway in front of the room furiously, until Ginny, harassed and running, a black bag in her hand, showed up.

"I should have never left her! Why did you let me sleep all that time? Why didn't you wake me? Since when has she been awake?" Ginny demanded, feeling guilty and furious with herself and with Draco.

"You needed to sleep. You won't be of much use to her if you were sick yourself, will you? She just woke up moments ago. And it was fine. She's alright." Draco heard himself speaking, trying to calm down Ginny when he couldn't calm himself down. But miraculously, Ginny shut up and walked in silently. Draco hovered by the door, uncertain…

But he banged the door shut and strode away, not daring to look back. He didn't stop until he was out of the corridors, out of the house and on the mansion's grounds…

**A/N: Hmpf…bit shorter than I expected, but I got stuck in the middle…little dark ain't it? Different then the loopy Draco(to quote this-recurring-dream) in past chapies…Mawii's been bugging me about how happy the past chapters seem seeing as Hermione is hurt and all that, so this chapie is 4 her, naufdude, and neena7…who've been bugging me to update. Ameterasu Kinesi (sorry hun but ur penname's a bit hard to memorize, hope I didn't get it wrong), this-recurring-dream, silidons,Mawii,dracoisthesexiestmanalive, who cheered me up a bit after my disastrous chapie 7, thank u all! Now, since I had to miss studying an exam to write this, do hope you'll humor me and press the ever present button at the bottom of this page, which tells you to "submit review"…(hint,hint,hint) Cheers! c u on the next installment of "What Time Can Never Heal"…**

**Ps. Naufdude made a really clever remark. Seems like my emotional chapters are coming in at fours: chapie 4,chapie 8 and so on…I guess we'll have to wait and for chapie 12 to see if it's true…**

5


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know, I know…I deserve a clobber on the head for taking this long to update, but honestly I have my reasons! Which are…Which are…ummm…ok, I do NOT have a good enough reason other than the fact that my writing has taken a turn for the worse and this plot has gotten so out of hand, I think I dug my own grave. Oh, and I have bloody exams as well but I don't think that's a valid excuse, since I'd rather write than study and I have been known in the past to ditch an important exam to update. Which must give me brownie points on at least trying to be a good author, doesn't it? Ach, I'll stop blabbering and just get on wid da story. sigh… **

**Chapter 9**

"IS ANYONE IN THIS FORSAKEN EXCUSE OF A MANOR?" A deep, loud voice bellowed through the empty corridors. Its owner, a tall, dark man with handsome Italian features looked dispassionately at the splendor around him. He seemed at ease, as if he belonged to his surroundings, fitting in perfectly with the Victorian armchairs behind him, as he leaned casually on the mantle above the fireplace he had just come out of. Though his handsome face was carefully arranged in a calm expression, almost blank, his quick mind was racing with questions and possibilities. For Blaise Zabini was not a man who took the affairs of his (few) friends lightly. Least of all Draco Malfoy. The platinum haired Slytherin hadn't made it to their monthly tryst that was supposed to take place a week ago, and this was an occurrence so rare that Blaise was justified in his suspicions. The one time he had missed the meeting was when the Granger girl had gotten herself engaged to an idiot, and hurt Draco. Blaise assumed that maybe she wasn't as smart as everyone made her out, and he hated her for what she had reduced Draco to. But Blaise had broken the code by coming here. He sighed, the only sign of emotion he had let out since he arrived from his hideaway in Italy to Malfoy Manor. As he was contemplating whether to just go look for his old friend himself (Draco really should improve the standards he puts on his servants!) when he heard footsteps in the corridor and two voices nearing the door. _Finally!_ Blaise thought. The two voices were getting louder and Blaise heard snatches of the discussion between what suspiciously sounded like a female voice, and another high pitched one, which probably belonged to a house elf. _A girl's here? The rotten scoundrel, I bet that's why he's late…I'll forgive him this time for this new development. _Thoughts raced across Blaise's mind and he made a mental note to have his security men run a check on her. It wouldn't be good if she was a gold digger, or a player. Draco wouldn't be able to hold against a second hurt. And Draco would never know. In fact, Blaise didn't even have to stay. He'll just see what was so special about this woman that helped her win Draco's affection over million others…and then leave. Blaise decided to sit in one of the chintz armchairs, picking up a random book that was lying on a coffee table and leafed through it. _Magickal Poisons and Their Properties_. Why would Draco have a book like that in the living room connected to his private office? Blaise didn't have time to contemplate the answer, for at that precise moment………the door opened and a voice berated him.

"If you don't bloody shut up you are going to wake up--" She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Zabini!?"

"Weaslette?!"

They stood in their places in complete shock. Both brains were working so fast you could have swore that you heard them ticking…

_She's Draco's new girlfriend!_

_Wasn't he supposed to be dead?_

_Isn't she married?_

_He's supposed to be dead!_

_Why her?_

_Am I seeing things?_

_I think I must be hallucinating!_

_I think Draco's right. I need to rest for a short while._

_No she's real._

_No, he's bloody real._

_Draco has a lot of explaining to do and he had better come up with something plausible! Fuck! This ruined our plans. I should invent something to get out of this mess._

_Oh Merlin! Maybe he has some sort of connection to that bastard, Roger!! How did he get past Draco's defenses? _

A minute of silence had passed before Blaise rearranged his shocked face into a look of boredom, while Ginny didn't even bother to hide her shock.

"Hello Weasley." Blaise drawled, trying to stem his shock.

"Don't hello me Zabini! Aren't you supposed to be dead? What are you doing in Draco's office?" Ginny practically spat out.

Blaise chuckled dryly. "You call him Draco now? And as you see, unless I'm an extra concentrated ghost, I'm pretty much alive."

"No! You were supposed to have died in the War! Draco told Harry, I'm sure of it!" Ginny had complete faith in that. Unless Draco had lied, which meant that everything had been a lie? Maybe Draco was connected to Roger? Oh, Merlin, did Ginny and Harry send Hermione to the lion's den? And where did Zabini come in all this? Maybe he was Roger! Maybe he had disguised himself and poised as Roger to get revenge at Harry. Maybe…_What the hell am I thinking?! Draco risked his life in the war to help our side, he wouldn't do something like that. Besides he loved…he loves Hermione._ Ginny berated herself.

"I told him to tell you that." Blaise said simply. He decided honesty was the best policy, which contradicted all his Slytherin beliefs, but desperate situations required desperate measures.

"Why?"

"That… is a long story."

"I have all the time in the world."

"I don't."

"I don't' give a damn! You will explain to me _now_ how you came to be alive instead of dead, and the reason for keeping it a secret."

"Why should I?" Blaise drawled, though secretly reaching for his wand,

"Simply because I will hex you into oblivion." Ginny stated fiercely, her wand already in her hand.

"I don't think that's necessary. I've been in this house more than you have, and I refuse to explain a thing until Draco graces us with his presence. Not any time sooner." Blaise decided to calm her down. Her hexes were infamous at Hogwarts, and he didn't that particular skill had weakened as she got older. On the contrary, he thought that an adult Ginny was not to be reckoned with.

"Then don't tell me why you're alive. But I do have the right to ask you what brings you here!" Ginny vehemently declared. "And to kill you if you don't tell me." She added as an afterthought.

Her last sentence confirmed Blaise's suspicions. "And what gave you that right?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.

"What?" Ginny didn't understand what he was aiming at.

"Aren't you married?" He decided to change tactics.

"Yes, of course I am you oaf! Can't you see the ring?" She waved a beautifully simple wedding ring in his face. "And don't try to change the subject. You will answer my question even if I have to force you!" Ginny was all set to commit murder, until Blaise's question sunk in. Why would he ask that? Unless…

"You perverted idiot! I am not Draco's mistress!" She shot back, suddenly seeing how this must look to Blaise. Was it possible that he didn't know?

"Then what other reason do you have for being here?" His tone was sarcastically condescending.

"When was the last time you read a newspaper?" Ginny suddenly asked, ignoring his question and acting on her instincts.

Blaise was so thrown off guard at the seemingly polite question that he answered truthfully. "I haven't read a newspaper for a month now because I was in Russia on a…on a business trip." He immediately regretted saying to much as Ginny had an expression on her face as if she had just realized something.

"You don't know?" She asked distantly, clearly occupied with something else.

"Don't know what?" This situation was quickly spinning out of control, and Blaise Zabini hated being out of control. It was, as his mother used to say, a sign of weakness.

"You don't know?!" She asked again, more clearly, and this time looking him straight in the eye.

"No, I don't know whatever it is you're asking about." Blaise drawled, getting bored of the whole thing. He had more important things to do other than sitting around gossiping with Weasleys; no matter how beautiful that particular Weasley looked. He got up. His lawyer was waiting for him, and one of his secretaries needed to be fired.

"Sit down. I have something to show you." Ginny decided.

"I have no time for your childish antics. Do not inform Draco that I came here." Blaise had had enough.

"You will sit down and see this. Or I will make you see it." Ginny said with finality. Blaise decided he would waste more time by arguing and sat down.

"If this is a waste of my time, which it is, I won't hesitate in disposing you." Blaise informed Ginny as she accioed a newspaper from the adjoining room.

"You need to learn how to shut up. Now read this!" She thrust an old copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands. A picture of a beaming Hermione winked at him in the front page as he scanned the headlines. The only sign he gave that he was reading it was the fact that there was still no reaction. Ginny sat in the chair opposite him, tensely waiting for him to finish. If she wasn't watching him closely, she would have missed the muscle twitching in his jaw on his otherwise calm face. When he had finished reading the articles that had continued on the third and fourth page, he turned to Ginny.

"Is this true?" He asked in a deadly calm.

"Every word, except for a few exaggerations here and there." She answered him, matching his calm tone.

"And who is this Roger character?" He asked.

"The bastard she married." Ginny answered, sighing. Blaise noticed something he hadn't seen before: she had a sunken look on her face, and her eyes held much grief.

"The one she left Draco for?" Serves her right, he thought.

"Technically she didn't leave Draco for him…" She trailed of as she saw the look on Blaise's face. "Yes, him."

"How is Draco involved?" Blaise's voice adopted a business like manner.

Ginny paused. Should she tell him everything? She still didn't trust him.

"Before I can answer that, I need you to answer a question. No a few questions." Ginny had to make sure.

Blaise paused. He knew Ginny didn't trust him. How could she trust a person who has seemingly rose from the ashes of the dead? But he had to know what happened. If this was true, then Blaise didn't want to imagine how Draco was taking the information. He would answer Weasley's questions in a way that did not expose himself. He would only tell her the necessary information, nothing more.

"Go ahead."

"What are you to Draco? What is Draco to you?" She asked.

He chose his words carefully. "I am his oldest and most trusted friend. Draco to me is like my brother."

"How did you get past the Manor's defenses?"

"I have special access. Draco set it up for me years ago. I am the only one, besides his late mother who can get past the defenses without the master of the house's permission."

She believed him, but she still couldn't fully trust him. She decided to ask him one last question.

"Why are you here?"

Zabini went quiet for a few minutes. What could he say and what could he leave out? Ginny, as each minute passed, began to have less faith in him. Finally, she stood up. She had left Hermione alone for quite a while now. It's Draco's job to explain to Zabini, not Ginny.

"I came to check on him."  
Ginny turned.

"What?"

"I came to check on him. I meet him on a monthly basis, and he missed out this month. I thought something had happened to him, and thought I'd pass by and see how he's doing."

Ginny sat down again. She now knew she could trust him.

"You answered my questions. I reckon it's my turn to answer yours." Ginny said, to show him he had won her trust.

"How odd…a Gryffindor trusts a Slytherin." Blaise commented.

"You're a friend of Draco's; you're a friend of mine." Ginny commented lightly.

"Would Potty like that?" He smirked.

"I think you're mature enough to drop those idiotic nicknames, aren't you?" Ginny asked, reminding Blaise who he was talking to.

"What does it feel like, being the wife of the great 'Boy-Who-Lived'?" He asked sarcastically.

"Everything I dreamed it would be. Are those the questions you're planning to ask me? Because they're pointless and if that's it I'd rather go to Hermione."

"Granger's here?!" Blaise looked around as if he would spot Hermione peeking out of one of the corners.

"Yes she is."

"Why?"

"Because we needed a place to protect Hermione and the Manor was perfectly suited for our purpose."

"Doesn't St.Mungo's provide enough security? And Draco and the rest of the rabble… aren't they Aurors?" Blaise delivered his questions curtly and businesslike.

"We cannot control every aspect of St.Mungo's. And we can't risk Hermione's life…"

"That's it. Why is she in danger? No, I take that back. Let me start at the beginning. When did it begin?"

"Yes that's a good idea. When did it all begin? When Hermione discovered she was pregnant." Ginny swallowed. She still found it hard to talk about the subject, and guilt consumed her every time she thought about it.

"You feel guilty." Blaise said it as a statement more than a question. She nodded. "Wasn't the git proud of the pregnancy?"

It took Ginny a while to get the question. "Whom? Oh, Roger the bastard you mean? That's what we all thought, but…" She trailed off. Blaise didn't press more. He didn't want the technical details. He could get accurate information about the case tomorrow from his agents.

"How is she? Now?"

"She woke up from her coma two weeks ago. So far…so far she has improved. She can pick up her own spoon, and sit up. But the poison still runs on…on the…wounds so that they won't heal."

"How is Draco involved in all this?" He asked.

"He was in charge of the Muggle born killings case. Hermione was….was…err…she was victim number 14 and Draco got her file by accident. You see, we weren't planning on telling him immediately. I was scared he would go and do something stupid. But one of the trainees gave him the hospital room number, and Draco went there to interrogate her, and he found it was Hermione."

"You wouldn't trust Draco on something as important as this?" Blaise scathingly remarked. His heart went out to his friend. He wondered how he was coping.

"It was supposed to be for the better! We weren't going to tell anybody, but a nurse leaked the news to the Daily Prophet and next day she was front page! Look at him now; he's slowly killing himself from the inside!" Ginny was beside herself with rage. How dare this…this utter stranger waltz in and start accusing them? She told him just that.

"You weren't here when she was in the hospital! You weren't here when it first happened! So don't start accusing me! I did what I thought was best. Look at him now; he's slowly killing himself from the inside!"

Blaise hung his head.

"No need for me to ask how he's coping then." He remarked quietly.

"He was fine in the beginning, when he was angry. Now he's…he's just lost. Every since she woke up, he's been wondering around aimlessly. He picks up a book then throws it down again! He orders me to rest and forces me to eat but he himself won't eat, he won't drink, and he won't sleep! He stays hours at an end by her side when she's asleep, but as soon as she wakes up he flees!" Ginny let out the anxiety she'd been holding back for the past two weeks. "I'm at my wits' end and I don't know what to do. He's either feverishly working in the library or rambling at night in the garden. I had two elves tail him around that bloody garden, but he threatened to give them clothes if they didn't leave him alone…" Ginny stopped rambling and looked up at the ceiling. She felt embarrassed that she had said that much. Ginny Weasley was a strong woman, but staying alone in a huge mansion with only the house elves to help her deal with her lifeless best friend, and a confused Draco trying to do the best he can had broken her defenses and weakened her. She needed her mother's advice, and the twin's humor. She needed Charlie's wisdom and Bill's comforting words. She needed her family. And she needed Harry. And above all, she needed the old Hermione. The one who used to scold Ron and Harry when they don't do their homework, who would give Ginny advice on how to catch Harry's interest, the one who was afraid of a piece of homework that got 9 out of 10. The one who fell in love with Draco Malfoy. Not the new, broken Hermione.

Blaise gave her a moment to recollect herself before asking his final question.

"Where is he?"

"Do you know he took two flasks of Calming Draught in less than a day?" She continued, oblivious to his questions. "Instead of being overly calm, he went-"

"Loony. I know." Blaise cut in quietly. "He did the same thing when his mother died."

"Oh." Ginny couldn't find anything else to say. Draco had never mentioned his mother or his father, and no one ever ask him about them.

"Where is he?" Blaise repeated his question.

"I don't know. In the garden somewhere. I think near the labyrinth somewhere." Ginny walked to the window and stared out at one of the most beautiful gardens in Britain. When she turned, Blaise was sitting on Draco's bug mahogany desk and writing something on a long scroll of paper..

"Where is that going?" She asked.

"My agents. I have a corporation that will lose its top chairman for a few weeks, so the least I could do is to send instructions."

"You can't use owls."

"I have my own means of sending information." Blaise sealed the letter with Draco's personal seal, a coat of arms that joined the Malfoy insignia with the Black crest. Ginny watched in silence as he muttered something.

"What the hell do think you're doing?" Ginny yelped as Blaise set the rolled up scroll on fire.

"Sending my instructions." He drawled, amused at a shocked Ginny.

"You could have set the desk on fire you git!" Ginny was getting more and more infuriated with him. Blaise hadn't changed since he was in Hogwarts. She grit her teeth when he burst out laughing.

"Not everything is what it seems." He answered unperturbedly.

"No. You are exactly what you seem." Ginny shot back.

"And what do I seem like?"

"A stuck up mommy's boy!"

"That is the best description about myself that I have heard." He declared, getting up from the desk and walking to the door of the living room. He stopped and turned back, deadly serious now.

"Does she love him?"

Ginny knew exactly who he was talking about. "More than she knows herself."

"Thank you." And with that he turned on his heel and strode in the direction of the garden.

Ginny left the room herself walking towards Hermione's chambers. Did Blaise Zabini just thank her? Maybe he had changed a little after all…

**A/N: No comment. It turned out even more boring than I originally thought! I didn't let anyone check it over, so the criticism is up to u guys. Please be honest while telling me what you think. You know where to find the 'submit review' button don't you? **

**p.s. mawii's gonna help me write chapie 10 (I hope!) so I don't think it'll take long for me to update.**

**p.p.s. I felt like I had left something out! A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed this story and put me in their alerts-this story's for u guys! And naufdude and neena7 for pushing me until I wrote chapie 9. Cheers then and I'll see u the next chapie (which should be quite a nice chapie-but I won't say anymore…u'll see for yourselves) **

8


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: aaaaah…I'm quite ashamed of myself. But I have a really good excuse this time. Honest! I have final exams, and I had to study this time. And mawii didn't help me WRITE…she gave me an idea though. Thanx 4 the constructive criticism last time, it really helped. I guess I wont bore u all with a long A/N (**_**no! like this isn't long enough? **_**umm ignore that annoying voice**__** so on wid da story: **

**Chapter 10: **

Draco dropped the trowel in his hand and crept closer. Could it be? Was this what he was trying to find all week? It had all the distinctive features…but it could be a fake. Only a test could prove it. He put his hand in the pocket of his robe and drew out a glass vial containing a pink potion.

_This potion better be perfect or I'll kill Longbottom! What did he say again? "Two drops on the white branch. If it turns red or emits an odorless gas then it is a Healing Iniuria. If not, then it's a common Longfellow. Remember, Iniuria are extremely rare,, and they may not even be of use." He's right. Maybe my theory's wrong. If it is, the Iniuria won't help at all. No, no, I'm pretty sure I'm right. There's no other explanation. It will work. I just have to find it. This just has to be the right one!_

He searched for a white branch underneath the colorful flowers. When he found it he pulled it towards him, uncorking the vial. With shaking hands he carefully shook out two drops of the pink potion onto the branch and waited with bated breath for the branch to change color. And waited. Draco stayed in a crouched position in front of the bed of plant in the Manor's garden for a long time, gazing at the branch, willing it to just change, wanting it to be the plant that will make everything right…

Nothing. A strong feeling of disappointment washed over him and he fell down on the freshly turned up dirt. That's it. Every inch of the garden. He had checked everywhere. Even in his mom's old potted plants. He had been so sure they had a specimen in the Malfoy Manor's garden. Draco cradled his aching head in his muddied hands. He had blown the only chance they had. _No! No-no… no… no… NO! Blow Neville and that idiotic book!_ He spotted the vial. He picked up the stupid vial and threw it at the stubbornly gleaming white branch and watched it as it broke. "IDIOTIC stupid little preposterous farce! RED! CAN'T YOU JUST TURN RED? IS IT THAT HARD? GO ON! JUST CHANGE COLOR!" He yelled at the poor plant. He pleaded with it. "I'll give you a thousand galleons. A thousand galleons! I'll put you under the care of the best herbologist ever known to humanity. I'll…" He tried threatening it. "If you don't turn red I'll dig up every plant in this garden! EVERY PLANT! I'll burn them all! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? I'LL BURN EVERY STUPID PLANT, STARTING WITH YOU!" He stopped for a breath. And finally noticed the broken shards of glass. "The whole thing…gone! What have I done?" He tried to save some of the potion to no use. It had all been soaked in the dirt. He groaned and ran a hand through his tousled platinum hair. The potion will take another three weeks to prepare... He yelled some more at the plant just for the sake of it. Then he stopped. Something was happening…

A frightened house elf stood on the garden's paved path, carrying a tray laden with food. Her cool, calculating master had never displayed such maddening emotion! "Master Draco is wanting anything sir?" She asked tentatively.

"Just leave! And don't come back until I tell you to. No one is to set a foot in the garden, understood?" Draco growled, staring fixedly at the branch. The elf bobbed her nervously and teetered away, the heavy tray balanced carefully on her head.

She had left Draco behind a little while when a tall, dark man with handsome Italian features came strolling down the path. She immediately sunk into a deep bow, the tray wobbled precariously. "Master Blaise."

"Tillie." He nodded his head, allowing her to straighten up. "Where is your master?"

Her eyes grew wide. "No sir, Tillie can not say. Master gave very specific orders, Master is not wanting anyone in the garden sir." She shook her head vigorously. Blaise chuckled. "He's in a right state isn't he?" He looked back at the path Tillie had just come from and could hear shouts in the distance. "No matter. I'll just follow the noise."

"Master is very angry; Tillie is not wanting Mister Blaise to go bother Master Draco." Tillie loyally stuck to her master's instructions.

Sometimes loyal elves were quite annoying, thought Blaise.

"Tillie, didn't your master also tell you you're supposed to take orders from me as if I was your owner?"

"Yes master."

"Then I order you to take that tray to Miss Ginny this moment."

The house elf hesitated, torn between her original order and this one.

"What I do or what I don't is of no concern of yours. Now go." Blaise continued smoothly, and Tillie scurried off to the Manor.

Blaise walked down the path, observing the lush scenery, noticing that every foot or so a plant had been pulled up from its roots, in what seemed like frustration. Blaise raised his eyebrows, amused. So if Draco was faced with a problem he goes to gardening? How interesting. No wonder he wouldn't let a landscaper touch the grounds. Blaise made a mental note to bring it up with Draco when more important matters have been settled. Now that should e entertaining. Following the shouts, he made his way through the overgrown grounds.

_Draco seems to be worse than what Weasley told me. More like a severe case of frustration than hurt. _

But as Blaise got closer he noticed that the noise sounded more like jubilation than frustration. And the sounds were coming closer.

"Yes. Yessssssssssss! Hah! I did it! MERLIN HELP ME I FOUND IT!"

A figure was running and leaping over the flowerbeds at top speed, and whooping up a noise enough to wake up the whole Manor! A figure heading straight towards Blaise…

"Blaise, mate! What brings you here on this fine, fine day?" A laughing Draco nearly crushed Blaise with a bear hug, a bright red plant levitating in a flower pot above his head. "The roots had to soak it! That's it. Not the branch, the roots! Stupid Neville, I should hang him by his round ears! HAHA! The roots!" He continued down the path, smiling so wide Blaise thought his face would crack any minute and shooting random sparks from his wand.

_Scratch frustrated and make that plain bonkers! He's gone mad! _Blaise stared in bewilderment, his second display of emotion for that day. He hurried after Draco, careful not to receive an assailment of fireworks in his face. "Draco! Draco Malfoy! DRACO ALEXANDER MALFOY!" He bellowed. Draco turned around, not paying any attention.

"Someone called my name?" He asked vaguely, not slowing down.

"You'll burn down the garden you idiot." Blaise drawled, catching up with Draco and taking his wand from his hand. Draco stopped as soon as the words had sunk in. "Burn the garden down? No, no that wouldn't work. The garden could be full of them. If only, that git Neville had told me that the roots have to soak up the potion, I would have found it a long time ago…" And he picked up his fast pace again, though sparks-less this time.

Blaise sighed and tried to get his attention again. Solitude had not worked for Draco.

"You found what?" Blaise asked his platinum blonde friend.

"A healing Iniuria! After 3 weeks, I found it! I knew Mother had ordered it to be planted." Draco talked more to himself then to Blaise. Blaise seemed taken aback. Draco was talking about Narcissa? He left this new piece of information aside and concentrated on what Draco was babbling about.

"Why would you need a Healing Iniuria? They're extremely rare and practically useless." Blaise tried to remember where he had heard about Healing Iniuria.

"I know they're extremely rare. Why do you think I'm so happy that I found one?" Draco snapped back, smile gone, lost in deep thought.

"But they're useless." Blaise persisted.

"You don't think they're called Healing Iniuria for no reason do you?" Draco answered. "Or maybe you made an intelligent guess and decided that a Healer discovered it?"

"Yes, I had always assumed that, I suppose. But if, as you say, they are called Healing Iniuria because they have the power to cure, what do they heal?" Blaise asked, his head full of possibilities.

"With the right potion, it activates an ancient magic that seals wounds caused by Dark Magic or that was a result of revenge. Iniuria literally means injustice in Latin. You've gone slow in the brain Blaise, you better watch out." Draco answered. The Manor was less then a kilometer away by now, and Draco picked up his pace so that they were almost running.

"Revenge? You don't believe…" Blaise trailed off. Draco had run off to the Manor, leaving Blaise behind. But as sudden as he had gone, he suddenly sprinted back.

He took a good look at Blaise, as if he had just noticed he was there.

"Blaise? Blaise Zabini? What the hell are you doing here? When did you come? Why did you come?" Draco bombarded him with questions. It had finally sunk in that his friend was here in his flesh and bone. Blaise shook his head in disbelief.

"This is how you greet your best friend?"

"You can't be here Blaise. It's not time yet."

"It was time a week ago Draco. You didn't show up."

"What? No it's still not for another month."

"Trust me when I tell you it was last week. I got worried, so I thought it was fine to pass by and check everything was okay with you. I guess not, from your reaction." Blaise waited for Draco's reaction. The latter sighed, and all the color that had been in his face from the garden wind drained away, and a haunted look replace that of triumph in his eyes.

This was the Draco Blaise was expecting.

"You don't know, you don't read the papers, do you?" It was a rhetorical question. Draco looked around him. "It's a right mess. Something….came up and I guess the meeting slipped from my mind. I'm sorry. But nothing's really wrong, so you don't have to stay." Draco rubbed a cheek, leaving a smudge of dirt on the pale skin.

Blaise had a determined gaze on his face.

"You aren't leaving." Draco said it more like a statement then a question. The look on his dark skinned companion was enough of an answer. "Fine. Then go straight up to my office. Wait for me there. I have something to do then I'll join you. But whatever you do, do NOT peek into the rooms. And I prefer if you walk around the house quietly, and—"

Blaise thought it would be easier on Draco if he just told him. "I know about Granger Draco."

"How—"

"I met the Weasley girl while I was looking for you."

"Oh. Well, either way, wait in the office. I have some questions to ask you."

"As do I."

"I guessed that." And with that Draco turned on his heel and hurried into the Manor. Blaise, for once, decided to honor Draco's requests. He went to the office and settled down in one of the antique chintz chairs next to the fire. With nothing else to do, he picked up the book he had found earlier, _Magickal Poisons and Their Properties_. He opened at a page previously marked. _Funesto Fetum. The deadliest of all old magic poisons and the most difficult to accomplish and to heal. Various Entities have to be available, foremost: Innocent Soul…_

And Blaise started reading…

Meanwhile…

"I found it! I found the Iniuria. But tell Neville that the potion has to be added to the roots not to the branch, the idiot. It would have saved my time if I knew about that." Draco was talking into what seemed like a mirror. But instead of Draco's reflection, an image of a green eyed, raven haired man looked back.

"Neville's here Draco, and he said he told you that he might be wrong." Harry answered.

"He was wrong. Anyway, tell him I need more of that pink stuff to check out all the plants in the garden. I also need the instructions for the potion made with the Iniuria." Draco briskly answered.

"He just brewed it and we're sending over four vials. As for the potion, we're not sure of the ingredients. Didn't you say your book had the remedy?" Harry looked over his shoulder, and said something to someone else.

"Yes, but it said to take the flower when it blooms in bath water for at least two or three weeks, washing the wounds with the bark from the stalk and branches."

"Do that then. Did it mention any side effects?"

"No."

"It's better than the potion then. I say go ahead with it, anything that will make her feel better."

"By the way, how are things at the office?"

Harry sighed. "The minister's been pestering us with questions. Kingsley is filling in for you currently. It odd looking for Kingsley and finding a pale Draco instead. I can never get used to it, the contrast is that big." Harry shuddered.

"The minister still thinks his golden boy's innocent?" Draco asked in disbelief, ignoring the remark about the difference between him and Kingsley.

"Yes. And what's more, he's accusing the whole department of conspiracy. The whole place is in shambles."

"The git! He can't be that stupid!" Draco exclaimed.

"How's Hermione?" Harry asked, anxiety in his eyes.

"Awake." Harry didn't press the matter on Draco.

"Ginny?"

"Still hanging together. She misses you though."

Harry suddenly turned around. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he turned back to the two way mirror.

"Have to go. Intruder near by. Minister's been sending spies everywhere, it's driving me crazy. Talk to Ginny later." And with that Harry was gone.

Draco sat in his seat for a while. A small part of him was relieved that he wasn't in the chaos of work right now. The larger part hated the fact that he couldn't go and fight with them. Oh, how he wanted to strangle the scrawny neck of that pathetic excuse of a Minister! The Ministry of Magic never learned, did it? Because, so far, the best the Ministry had ever seen was when Arthur Weasley took command of the Ministry when it was chaos during the war. Then he…died and when the war ended the look-alikes of Fudge and Scrimgour came and puffed up their feathers and thought they were the top of the world. But this git? He was the worst of them all.

Draco put away the mirror and starting walking to his new living quarters. He was in desperate need of a bath. On his way he stopped by _her_ room. He came in time to hear Ginny trying to coax Hermione into eating something. He could barely hear Hermione's voice.

"You need to eat this."

"What's the point?"

"Oh, Hermione please…"

"It's this feeling I have. Something's missing….and there's no point in living… my chance is over." Draco had to strain to hear the last part and he missed some parts.

He heard the clanging of a spoon being put down.

"You just to have faith Hermione…"

At this point Draco backed off. He didn't feel right, eavesdropping on them like this. He had more pressing matters to attend to anyway. He continued on his way, determined not to turn back. When he had freshened up and taken a long, invigorating bath, he felt ready to answer Blaise's questions.

He passed hallways and climbed stairs lost in his thoughts, until he reached the big double oak doors of his office. It opened immediately for him, and he found Blaise immersed in a book Draco had pored over many a sleepless night, not even noticing when Draco crossed the living room and went to sit behind his desk.

After a few minutes had passed and Blaise still hadn't looked up, Draco cleared his throat. Twice. Three times.

"One would think that the great Blaise Zabini is, in fact, a bookworm." Draco commented coolly.

"I wouldn't say that. From the look of this book, you've been reading it forever," Blaise answered, still not looking up from the book. "This does explain a lot of things though."

"I know. It's why I read it."

"No I meant your actions. You think that this Roger character stabbed Hermione with Funesto Fetum in an act of revenge?"

Draco winced at the blunt use of Blaise's sentence. He pondered it over; hearing it out loud made it seem different somehow.

"Yes. Yes, I do. It's the most probable theory." He made up his mind.

"But revenge for what?" Blaise pressed on.

"How am I supposed to answer the workings of a sick bastard?" Draco snapped. These questions were putting him on the edge, and Blaise knew it.

"What's your guess though? You must have one." Blaise went on nonetheless.

"I think… I think it's revenge for…her carrying his baby. He had said the words: "Mudblood baby." while stabbing her, so it must mean something."

"But according to what you told me previously that he was a Muggleborn as well?"

"I know that! I still haven't figured that out. But the only explanation I can think of is that he is a pureblood in a false identity."

"Not possible. We know all the pureblood families remember? No one matches his qualifications. All of the people in his age are either dead or were with the Light."

"Since you're so smart, why are you asking me?" Draco replied angrily.

"I need to assess the facts."

"Since when have you been the investigator?"

"Not me, my agents. If you want any information on anything in the world, they're the ones for who can bring it."

"Good for them."

"Draco, stop acting like a spoiled brat. Only your pride is wounded and you better get over that fast if you wanted to help Hermione." Blaise lectured. Draco stopped acting surly when he noticed that, for the first time, Blaise had called her with her first name, instead of Granger!

Blaise hadn't noticed and continued with his interrogation.

"Don't you work as an Auror?"

"Yes but Kingsley Shacklebot-you know the tall, dark Auror, friend of Harry's? - is filling in for me. He's taking Polyjuice Potion."

"So Roger won't suspect anything's out of place, or that Hermione's living with you, while simultaneously you can't leave the Manor, because you need someone to protect her. Which means Roger works at the Ministry." Blaise came to the right conclusion.

"You get on quickly." Draco drawled, resting his head on the palm of his hands.

"What will you do with the Healing Iniuria?"

"It's to be used in bathwater and the bark as a sealant for the running wounds,"

"Do you have anyone to take care of her, besides Weaslette?"

"The house elves."

"No, no they will not do. Weasley has to leave in a while doesn't she?"

"Yes, she's been missing long enough, so she will just show up for a few days, then come back."

"Hmmm…" Blaise pondered his options. "I think the best course of action is to bring a nurse to help. House elves won't do. I know the perfect person for this…"

"You think? Who asked your opinion? I can take perfect care of her. Between me and the house elves she'll be fine. Besides, we can't risk anyone coming."

"She'll be dead in a week and you know it. You won't look at her when she's awake…and you want to take full care of her? No, Abigail is perfect. She's completely reliable, and she's been working at St.Marialleo for 20 years now. She's the one who took care of me."

Draco knew he was right, but he couldn't bring himself to agree.

"Think of Granger's needs not yours." Blaise warned.

That did it.

"I'll have to tell Harry first, and I need to check on her."

"Done."

"Fine."

Blaise looked over at the priceless gemstone wizard chess set Draco owned.

"I always beat you." He raised his eyebrows, daring Draco to challenge him. Blaise fully well knew that he would lose, but it was an excellent diversion for Draco.

Draco, oblivious of Blaise's thoughts, went livid.

"You always beat me? In what lifetime, mate?"

"Prove it then. I'm quite sure I'll win. I even bet you ten galleons on it."

"Your loss." Draco shook his head, summoning the chess set.

Let the chess games begin…

**A/N: So what do you think?! I hoped u liked this chapter. I did. I did my job, now it's time you did yours. You all know where the review button is. And for all you shy people out there, who give me hit but don't say a word… REVIEW. It'll only take a few seconds from time. Be brave and bold and SPEAK OUT! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW.**

**Love all ya guys out there who reviewed for all the past chapters, I owe you a lot. I'll write them next chapie but on this one no time cuz I have to go study biology. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed or paid the slightest attention to this story of mine. Cheers!**

**p.s. Just for info: meaning of Funesto: to defile or pollute with death.**

**Fetum: death, ruin annihilation.**

**All Latin of course. Gruesome poison isn't it?**

8


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey y'all! Quite a disappointment the last chapie was. I only heard three voices! What u didn't like it? ********Anyway exams are over and summer's here…and I plan on finishing my story soon. I hope. Can't wait till July 21****st**** can u? the suspense is killing me. And I have mixed feelings: to be happy (that we finally get answers) or not to be happy (because Harry Potter will be done. No more waiting for books)? For as Shakespeare says: That is the important question. Well, enough of my philosophy, on with the story. Cheers: **

**Chapter 11:**

"Hermione, please! You have to eat something. Anything!"

Ginny sighed in frustration. The youngest Weasley daughter had very little patience. Hermione, on the other hand, barely even opened her eyelids, still under the influence of the pain killing potions.

"Just go away." She whispered.

"You need to eat this."

"What good will it do?" There was no purpose after what happened to Hermione, or so she believed.

"Oh, Hermione please…" Ginny felt her heart ache. She had to get to the core of Hermione's problem! It was the only way to try to heal her.

"No, I really mean it. It's this feeling I have. Something…I don't know. I feel like something's missing. I wish Roger would've just finished me off there and then."

Two tears leaked from Hermione's eyes. The feelings were indescribable. Hermione knew what it possibly could be, but she wouldn't admit it, not after all theses years.

"Hermione! Don't say that! Don't ever say that! That's what that good-for-nothing slime wants you to think! Hermione, you can't give up now! Not after all you've been through! You survived the war, you can survive this. Not to mention the fact that you survived McGonagall's N.E.W.T.S with barely a scratch on you! Doesn't that count for anything?" Ginny tried to cheer her friend up, but all that came out of her was a wan smile.

Silence reigned for a moment. Ginny thought, for a moment, that the only way to cure Hermione was another chance…and not just Hermione.

"He still loves you." Ginny murmured hesitantly.

"No he doesn't. I lost my chance a long time ago. My pride wouldn't just let me be happy. I lost my chance." Hermione repeated, her sunken face now more pronounced then ever.

"He loves you Hermione! He would do anything for you…" Ginny exclaimed.

"What would he want with a person like me? An idiot stupid enough to believe all those lies and follow them blindly." Hermione muttered. Ginny, somewhere inside of her, knew this was a good thing. At least Hermione was showing some emotion! Now, all they needed was a push to the right direction. Yes, Harry had asked Ginny not to get involved, but Harry wasn't here now was he? Speaking of which, Ginny should better give Draco some instructions. The house elves as well. The house would be chaos, she didn't know how they would manage. Oh, how she wished she didn't have to leave! Not when Hermione needed her most…_Damn that Roger…I wish he would jump off a cliff…and land into a pit full of poisonous snakes…_

Ginny shook her head clear of her murderous thoughts. She had a bigger task ahead of her, telling Hermione she had to leave for a while. And trying to prevent Hermione from starving herself to death.

"Just a bite Hermione it won't do you any harm." Ginny persisted.

Hermione wouldn't even open her mouth. After half an hour she drifted off to sleep.

Ginny sighed. "Well, I better go pack then. Harry's supposed to come any moment now." She muttered to herself. She nodded to Stubby, the house elf in charge of monitoring Hermione.

"Is miss wanting anything?" Stubby asked, bowing so low his forehead nearly touched the floor.

"Just notify me when she wakes. And make sure you give her her potions this evening as I won't be here to give it to her myself."

"As you wish miss." He bowed once again as Ginny left the room.

"There will be no need for that." A crisp, no nonsense voice rang across the corridor. Ginny whirled around to see an old lady walking towards her. Decked in lavender robes with an emblem of two wands stitched across, with graying hair tucked neatly into a bun, she was clearly a nurse. She reminded Ginny faintly of Professor McGonagall. But what was she doing here? Ginny quickly whipped out her wand and aimed it at the nurse, who looked astonished.

"Well I never-!" She started to say when Ginny cut her off.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" She snarled, pointing the wand at the nurse's throat.

"If you would be so kind to remove your wand from my throat, I might consider answering your question." The woman responded, her nose in the air. Her voice, prim, proper, and pretentious was exactly what Ginny was expecting. She doubted this woman had ever smiled in her life.

"I don't remember giving you a choice." Ginny said sweetly. "I'll give you one now. Either you answer my question, or I hex you like no tomorrow." She gave her a smile that would have melted butter, but only made the nurse frown.

"What a vulgar child you are! Does your mother know you're walking around threatening innocent old ladies such as myself, young lady?" She reprimanded, sounding like she was talking to a moody teenager. That was the final straw for Ginny. She was not going to stand around being scolded by a stranger who could be Roger for all they know, not to mention snobby.

"What I am and what my mother knows is none of your business!" Ginny hissed. "That's it. I guess you've already chosen." Ginny raised her wand, prepared to do some serious damage when Blaise came down the stairs. After taking the scene in front of him, he raised one elegantly arched eyebrow.

"Threatening old ladies now Weasley?" He chuckled. "Scaring the wits out of grown men wasn't enough?"

If looks could kill, Blaise would have been dead seven times over.

"Blaise, what is this heathen child doing? I will not be manhandled I tell you!" The nurse declared vehemently. Ginny's jaw dropped.

"Heathen child? Who you do you think you are lady?" Ginny did a double take. "You know her?" She asked an amused Blaise. He nodded. Ginny didn't move a muscle.

"Wipe that smirk of your face boy. This is not a laughing matter!" The woman scolded. Blaise looked ashamed. Blaise looked ashamed?!

"Yes senorita." Blaise muttered.

Ginny looked back in wonder. Who was this woman? As if Blaise had read her mind, he stepped forward.

"This is Nurse Abigail, Weasley. Abigail, this is Ginny Weasley-Potter." He made the introductions.

"You're the girl who married that Potter boy." The nurse, Abigail was her name, looked as if she was trying to recall something. "Your father was Arthur Weasley?"

"You know my father?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, but not personally." Abigail seemed to look at Ginny differently. "You seem to have survived much horror and pain. You might just turn out like your father. A great man he was."

Ginny dropped her wand to her side and held her stomach.

"Yes, yes he was…" She spoke softly. She cleared her throat. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here. How did you go past the defenses? Does Draco know you're here?" Her voice sounded strong again as she shot off questions. "Where is Draco anyway? And what are you still doing here Zabini?"

"Making sure Draco doesn't go mad." Blaise drawled.

"And you?" Ginny persisted.

"I am taking charge of Miss Granger's care." Abigail's voice became brisk again. "Yes Mr. Malfoy does know I'm here."

"What? Take care of Hermione?" Ginny looked shocked. And then livid. "Who the hell are you to waltz in and make decisions all by yourself?" She started on Blaise. Blaise knew exactly what was coming, so he quickly ushered Nurse Abigail into Hermione's room. "This is the room of the invalid, Abigail. I'm sure you would like to see her surroundings and the condition of the patient."

"Hermione is not an invalid or some patient! She's my friend! How could you think that you could leave her in the care of an uptight complete stranger?! What does she mean to you anyway?" Ginny rounded on Blaise, furious.

"She's the one Draco chose to fall in love with." Blaise interrupted her tirade. "I may not approve of his taste-" He raised a hand to stop more abuse from a red faced Ginny. "But he cares about her, and therefore my responsibility to insure her wellbeing. That's what she means to me."

Ginny silently, albeit furiously, waited for him to finish.

"And Abigail isn't a complete stranger. Uptight yes, but stranger, no. And she is fully qualified to take care of Hermione, and she is fully trusted to keep her mouth shut." As Ginny opened her mouth to object, Blaise cut her.

"Weasley, stop ignoring the facts. Yes Hermione is an invalid! She's been through more than any of us have. She needs extensive care and an expert in healing. And frankly, you don't have what it needs to give out either. On the other hand, Abigail is the best in her profession. She can give what you can't."

"How can you be so sure she'll be good for Hermione?" Ginny asked heatedly.

"Because she is the one who nursed me back to health when I was a moment away from death!" Blaise bellowed. Ginny looked taken aback at this rare display of temper. She must've hit a nerve.

"I'm sorry. But you have to understand, Hermione is the closest thing I ever had to a sister, and I can't just leave her like this." Ginny tried to calm herself down.

"Draco and the house elves won't be able to take care of her alone. This is the best arrangement, and I've never been wrong before." Ginny shook her head at the arrogant tone Blaise finished his sentence with. Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin.

"I need to think this over. And I need to talk to Draco." Ginny seemed confused about what to do.

"He's in his office talking to Potter." Blaise started walking back the way he came from.

Ginny didn't need to be told twice. She started walking briskly, matching Blaise's long strides easily. They walked in silence.

When they reached the door to Draco's private office, Blaise stopped and turned to Ginny.

"Draco and I have agreed on not mentioning my…err…for a lack of a better term, resurrection to Harry." He drawled turning back into his old bored self.

"Why not?" Ginny asked.

"Because he won't trust me and therefore we will waste time trying to explain the situation. That, and the fact that I want to stay dead." Blaise stated matter-of-factly.

"Actually I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anybody." He added as an after thought.

Ginny said nothing and stepped into the room.

Draco had his back to them, peering into the two way mirror Harry had given him since Hermione was moved to Malfoy Manor.

"You let a complete stranger into the Manor! What in Merlin's name were you thinking?" Harry was yelling. Draco ran a hand through his already tousled hair.

"Harry, just hear me out! She's not a perfect stranger, she's a …she's an old family friend. And she can work miracles…" Draco responded.

"An old family friend? With the reputation of your family, she's probably a Dark witch." Draco flinched like he had been hit. Harry immediately regretted saying that.

"Look mate, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that. It was uncalled for and I apologize. I'm just stressed out." Harry paused to rub his jet green eyes, which looked like they hadn't had seen much sleep for a while. "Fred and George's store was hit yesterday." He sighed.

"What? Are Fred and George okay? Did the bastards do a lot of damage?" Draco stopped looking surly and became alert. Ginny held her breath.

"They're fine. And I'd say the twins' defense gimmicks they had put around the shop probably did more damage to the bastards than they did to the shop." Draco chuckled and Ginny let out her breath. But then Harry's face became very grave.

"And… Godric's Hollow was attacked last night."

Not a sound was to be heard as this startling new piece of information sunk in. Ginny gasped and flew to Draco. Taking the mirror from him, Harry's face disappeared. But it came back as soon as Ginny called Harry's name in the mirror.

"Are you fine? Is Dobby fine? What happened? Why didn't you tell me?" Ginny paused for a breath. She seemed to be asking a lot of questions these days and she was getting tired of being in the dark.

"Hello dearie. Yes I'm fine. Dobby's missing, but we'll track him down soon. And I didn't tell you because I knew how you would react. _Someone_ didn't tell me you were in the room."

"I didn't know she was in the room!" Draco responded indignantly. Blaise just watched all this drama unfold quietly.

"Now to more important issues. Ginny, you know what to do. There's a slight change of plans of course, since I won't be able to come, and I want you to Apparate to 12 Grimmauld's Place, do you understand? Everyone's there. We've set up decoys in the Burrow, since it's the last place left not attacked." Harry sounded like a general.

"Yes fine."

"And now about this nurse thing. Pass me Draco dear."

"Harry, she's…she's okay." Ginny decided. "And Draco's right. Hermione needs special care none of us can give her. She needs this." Blaise smirked at her. She ignored him.

Harry seemed to contemplate this.

"Does Draco trust her?" He finally asked.

Draco looked at Blaise, who nodded.

"Yes, I do." Draco told Ginny.

"Yes he does Harry."

Harry hesitated. "Okay. No harm can come out of this so it's worth a shot. Just tell Draco to keep a close eye on Hermione."

"Easy for him to say! He's not the one stuck in this awful mansion not being able to do anything." Draco muttered. Ginny smiled. She was wondering when Draco was going to say anything about being cooped up.

"Draco says he wants a piece of the action." Ginny relayed to Harry.

"Soon, tell him. We're going to catch that bastard and when we do…" Harry trailed off.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Ginny left. Blaise stood up and went to see if his clothes had arrived yet while Draco ventured downstairs…

A few days later…

Abigail had put the Healing Iniuria to use immediately, and now Hermione had to take a bath three times a day. The potion had shown effects on the wounds, mainly stopping the flow of blood, and numbing the pain for a while, so now Hermione didn't have to be put into a drug induced coma. This was both good and bad; good because Hermione was showing progress in lifting her own spoon. Bad because she would wake up screaming every night from her dreams, no matter what Draco or Abigail gave her. She was also not eating and she would pretend to sleep every time Draco tried to come and see her. It ended up with Draco being banned from the chambers, since Abigail believed that it was better if Draco stayed away. Until one day, when she caught him staring at a sleeping Hermione.

"You really do love her, don't you?" She asked softly, startling an unsuspecting Draco.

She didn't need an answer. One look at his eyes was enough.

"But what use is it anyway? All it brings is a stab through the heart." Draco said bitterly.

"Don't give up. Hope is still there." And she left him to prepare Hermione's bath, a plan concocting in her brain. _If only…_

Abigail used her wand to float Hermione to the bath. She was surprised to find That Hermione was wide awake. She was more surprised when Hermione addressed her.

"I'm awfully sorry. I've been absolutely selfish and childlike lately. Not to mention horrible, even after what you're doing for me. And it's very kind of Dr…Malfoy to do what he's doing." Hermione sounded like her old self, prim and proper but Abigail could see it was just a façade, just another defense mechanism Hermione had put up against those who cared about her.

"Oh Hermione it's what we have to do. You deserve to be in the best hospitals but sadly…" Nurse Abigail trailed off tactfully. Twenty years of service had taught her when information was needed and when it wasn't. From what she gathered, Hermione had been battered emotionally and physically, and therefore information was banned.

"Roger is still out there…" Hermione completed.

"Astute as always my Gryffindor bookworm." Draco muttered, not daring to take another step inside the spacious bath room. Hermione might be an emotional wreck but her intelligence was still there.

Silence settled on the dark room. Hermione lost what grasp she had on the present. Her eyes dulled.

"Where did it go?" Hermione whispered, staring in front of her.

"What dear?" Nurse Abigail asked, occupied with washing the wounds and adding the mixture to the bath water,

"Everything. When did it go so horribly wrong? Where did it all go? Ginny I was the smartest witch at Hogwarts! What happened?" Hermione seemed so lost on her thoughts she thought she was talking to Ginny. Nurse Abigail paused, and then stood up and left the room leaving Draco to deal with Hermione. Draco shook his head in fright. What had he gotten himself into?

Hermione didn't even seem to notice that the nurse had left the room. Anguish, pain, bewilderment, regret, sorrow, such a strong sense of loss, it just overwhelmed her…

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no NO NO NO NO!" She held her head, trying to chase out the demons. Rocking back and forth, looking for an answer, anything, tears streaming down her face. "No, nononono NOOOOO!" She was screaming. Memories were tearing through her heart, Roger's dagger was stabbing her over and over again, the bruises were too much to cover. She looked right and left. Where to go? How to escape? Were the demons ever going to leave? She started thrashing through the water. "NO…NO…NO…NO….NOOOOOO………"

It was like a knife was being dragged through his heart. Draco couldn't bear seeing her like this. He couldn't keep a distance. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had taken of his shoes and jumped into the bath, holding Hermione from doing any damage to herself. He held her tightly against him, rocking back and forth, as if he could somehow absorb some of Hermione's pain.

"It's fine. Shhhhh….you're okay now Hermione. I'm here now…." Draco whispered soothingly into Hermione's ear, wishing somehow, he could take it all away. "It's ok luv. He's gone now. No one will ever hurt you again. Shhhh…"

They just stayed there, Draco leaning on the enamel bath tub, a sobbing Hermione held tight against his broad chest, for what seemed like infinity…the bathwater had gone cold when Draco heard steady breathing. Hermione had fallen asleep in his arms, her wet hair fallen against her face. Draco's breath caught in his throat as he gazed upon her. Slowly, carefully, he brought a hand to her face…and caressed the ivory skin, tucking her hair behind her ear, to see her face better. She seemed peaceful, like a fallen angel. Time seemed to have stopped as he gazed down at her face.

When Draco finally came to his senses, he realized Hermione was completely naked, and he was fully clothed in a bath. His loins tightened. As a blush crept into his pale face, he accioed a couple of towels, wrapping Hermione in them, did a quick drying spell on himself before picking up Hermione gently in his armed and taking her to the bed. After pulling up the covers, he turned around and tried to dress her magically. After he was sure she was completely dressed he turned around and drew the covers up to her chin, smoothing them down. He hesitated, then planted a soft kiss on her forehead. As he turned to go, he heard a soft voice…

"Please don't go." Hermione whispered softly.

He turned around. She was barely awake. How could he bear to be this close to her after holding her so gloriously in his arms? It would be torture trying to keep his distance.

"Please…I don't want to be alone…"

Draco resigned to her plea with a sigh and settled himself into the chair next to hers and prepared himself for a long night.

Hermione slipped back to sleep but soon she was twitching from unfathomable horrors. Shaking like a leaf, she would scream out…Draco was soon holding her again, and unbeknownst to both of them, they drifted of to the most peaceful sleep, side by side…

**A/N: Sooooo…..what do u guys think? Lots of talk. I don't like dialogue much but I didn't have a chance since I wanted to explain a few things. Finally some Draco Hermione action aye? Draco seemed shy…but that was only because he respected Hermione. Whatcha think of Nurse Abigail? And the last scene was courtesy of mawii, who had promised to write it for me, but she didn't so I ended up writing it. I hope I did well…**

**Oh PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. Last chapter I only got 3 reviews so I thought that maybe you didn't like it. SO all you shy ones please come out! I accept criticism! **

**Oh and I'd like to give the "MOJO Award For Best Reviewer" to a very special reviewer who has lifted my spirits and never failed to review for any of my chapters from day one and the name of that reviewer is…….**

**Drum roll please! **

**this-recurring-dream!!!!**

**Yaay! clapping and hooting She deserves it! **

**AND A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SHOWED INTEREST IN THIS STORY OF MINE…Luv ya guys, u truly are the best…miss ma friend prongs…**

**I'll see you in the next chapter of "What Time Can Never Heal."**

**Toodles!**

9


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I hope you like this one. It's dedicated in the memory of me friend naufdude, and every reviewer who ever reviewed me! Enough said, on with the story….**

**Chapter 12:**

She felt so incredibly…safe. Yes, safe. It was the only word that seemed appropriate for the description of the overwhelming, warm feeling that was engulfing her body from the tip of her curly head to her bare toes. She couldn't see any dark shadows, or sharp objects. The world was bright and clear. Her lips were subtly curved at the corners. The muscles in her face ached, as if they weren't used to this sort of action. Was Hermione Granger almost…smiling? Hermione looked at her surroundings. She was in a beautiful garden, breathtaking flowers in full bloom, a faint sound of trickling water and joyous shouts in the distance. She walked down the stone garden path in awe. She had had so many nightmares she forgot what beauty looked like. She had forgotten what it was like to _dream_.

But this bliss was not meant to last long. A flash of gold caught Hermione's attention. Her curiosity aroused, she walked cautiously towards the source of the flash. Soon she came upon what she was looking for. Her breath became ragged as she observed the scene in front of her…

A dying phoenix lay on the ground, encased in what seemed like lines of dark smoke that crisscrossed and made a net around it. Its once magnificent gold and scarlet plumes were now ashy gray.

"Fawkes?" Hermione whispered. No it wasn't Dumbledore's pet. She took a step back and looked around. The flash of gold couldn't have been from this poor phoenix. Hermione took a deep breathe and stepped closer. She'd never seen a phoenix in rebirth, and she had always wanted to see one. Hermione quickly did some calculations in her head. It should be happening anytime now…

Nothing happened. The phoenix just lay there inside the net. Hermione suddenly noticed something. The grass inside the odd crisscross of smoke was…was dead! While all the grass around was green, the ground beneath the bird was bare and ashen! Hermione's heart beats quickened. What if the phoenix couldn't reborn? What if the net was stopping it somehow? This magnificent bird didn't deserve to die! Hermione's brain started working furiously. She will not leave this bird to die! Never! She hurried to it and tried pulling the net away. The smoke, surprisingly solid, seared her hands as soon as she tried to touch them. Hands burned and time slipping away; she started pacing up and down the lawn. It must be magic then. But how to stop it? The phoenix could die at any moment! But she didn't have her wand with her. She could perform some wandless spells but they were simple and wouldn't be able to do anything to this Dark Magic circle. At least Hermione assumed it was dark magic. What was it that Dumbledore said? Love is the most powerful magic. Unconscious love is the most powerful magic of all, as Harry had discovered in the Final Battle.

_But I have no one left to love. I have no one left to be loved_. Hermione felt the world darken at her despair.

"_That's not true."_ A little voice spoke at the back of her head. _"You still have Ginny. She left her husband and her work just to take care of you." _

A line disappeared from the net, unnoticed by Hermione.

"_And there's Harry, who's been there for every step of the way. The Weasley twins, Ron, Charlie, Bill and especially Molly Weasley, who, to you, is like a mother."_

The odd net was disappearing bit by bit, Hermione still lost in her thoughts.

"_Victor obviously cares about you."_

It was almost gone.

"_And………Draco. He…he loves you. He would risk his life for you…"_

_No, no he doesn't! Not anymore…_ Hermione argued. Only one line was left in the net now…a long, dark smoky shadow, the strongest and clearest of the lines.

"_Why are you so afraid of accepting his love? Why are you so afraid to live again?"_ The little voice persisted. Hermione fell to the ground, clutching her stomach.

"Because I'm afraid." She whispered in a hushed voice.

"_Afraid of what?"_ The little voice asked.

"Of waking up and finding it is all a lie." Tears were streaming down her face.

"_Roger is over and done with_." The little voice was very firm. _"Now tell me what is your happiest memory?"_

The phoenix let out a long sad wail as it prepared itself to die.

_My happiest memory? _Hermione looked back to the past year and felt despair eating her from the inside out. But then that warm feeling came back again and she remembered the feeling of strong arms wrapped around her, a voice calming her down…her head against his chest…

_My happiest memory is with him…_Her eyes widened as the meaning of that hit her. A fire that she had thought dead rekindled in her heart, warming her and cleansing her wounds. She closed her eyes to embrace the feeling...Something went up in flames. Hermione gasped as she opened her eyes to find the phoenix in flames. Soon it was nothing but ashes. She hurried over to the ashes and fell on her knees, hands covering her eyes as she rocked back and forth. _I had failed. I had failed. The phoenix is dead. I was too late…too late…_she kept on mumbling. Until… a squawk came from somewhere under the ashes. Hermione stopped and held her breath. Could it be possible? A glimmer of hope shined through the darkness and Hermione starting searching through the ashes frantically. _Oh please Merlin, just give me this…_

Hermione gave a sob as a single tear traced its way down her wet cheeks. But, unlike the others, this one had fell from pure joy…because in front of her, an ugly, bald baby phoenix stared up at her…

Draco felt her twitching in his sleep. He instinctively tightened both arms around her. He opened his eye a crack to see that somehow, Hermione had ended up in Draco's arms, her head pressed against his torso. In A fuzzy state of mind, all precautions dropped, Draco smiled contently and slipped off to sleep again.

Unbeknownst to both of them, an old lady was watching them sleep from a crack in the door. Abigail smiled to herself. Leaving Draco to handle that situation was possibly the smartest thing she had ever done, and she had done pretty smart things. She closed the door softly behind her, and returned to her room, which was adjoined to Hermione's so it would be easier to take care of her patient. She sat in the chintz armchair and inspected the work her two knitting needles were doing. After fixing out a few flaws, she settled back to drink her well earned tea. "Now where was that idiot of a boy? He was sure to pass by out of curiosity…" She muttered. No sooner had the words left her mouth than she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Come in Blaise dearie!" She called out, careful not to make much noise. The door opened and the handsome Italian walked in.

"From the fact that you knew who I was, I can guess that you have knowledge regarding Draco's whereabouts and that he is not here." Blaise drawled.

"Spot on my dear boy! Now come have a seat nest to your old nurse. I'll fill you in since you seem to be dying of curiosity." Abigail patted the ottoman next to her.

Blaise raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh don't give me any of that nonsense about you being high and mighty. It doesn't work on me." She scolded. Blaise reluctantly sat stiffly on the ottoman.

"Me, dying of curiosity? I should hope I haven't stooped that low in the world. And you know I hate sitting on these confounded things because they have no back." Blaise sounded mildly annoyed.

"Oh I know you well. Better than you think. Now, shall we play a game of chess while I fill you in? Good." She hadn't even waited for an answer. "Now hurry and get us a chess set."

They spent the next few hours matching wits and analyzing information before they turned in.

The whole household was in deep sleep. A single candle was flickering in Draco's study, illuminating a shadow against the desk. Someone was reading the book Blaise had left lying on the elegant mahogany desk. The intruder chuckled throatily, taking out a wand and setting fire to the book. After watching it burn into nothing but ashes, a gloved hand reached into the folds of a black robe and pulled out what seemed to be an unmarked envelope, but for a small crest that rested at the left hand corner. Laying it in the middle of the ashes, the interloper blew out the light and disappeared in the darkness…

**A/N: Sooo how was it this time? Hermione's dream was very metaphorical if anyone cared to notice. Do baby phoenixes squawk? I'm on holiday and left my hp books back home (stupid me) and I forgot that particular detail. If anyone knows, just leave me a hint. Sorry it's a short one. I had much more planned for this chapter, but I decided not to mix things up and to keep it short and simple. So sorry for whats seems like a cliffhanger…I promise I wont be late in posting the next chapie, unless (oh wait I'm getting an evil idea…) unless I get reviews! No reviews no updates! MUWAHAHAHAHA…do I have to tell u? **

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**Toodles!**

**Ps. thank you queen steven and Emma-Louise 1993 for recently adding me to their favorites. It means the world…**

**and everyone who reviewed chapie 11...they're only four so: naufdude, this recurring dream, Losing track, pstibbons, and emma louise 1993. well ok they're five. anyway a BIG THANK U.**

4


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:I'm MARRIED TO A VAMPIRE… I'm MARRIED TO A VAMPIRE!**

**Uhhh….i'm in luv wid Edward from twilight…and I wanted to distract u from my inexplicable delay of updates. Truly I am beyond sorry. I think I just got so caught up in the summer I sort of…ummm…forgot to update? Three weeks in France kinda does that to u. And I had so many books to read, I didn't have time to think about writing. And then when I put my layout of this chapie in my head, book 7 comes and does a memory charm on EVERYTHING. The only reason I'm pulling myself outta my self induced writer's block is bcuz a reviewer, lily, impatiently reminded me of my duty. Again, I have no excuse and u can all send ur fluffy pink bunnies **_**shiver **_** to decapitate me if u like:P. now on wid the story. Cheers!:**

**Chapter 13:**

"Draco! Draco!" Someone hissed.

Draco tried to ignore the annoying voice.

"Draco! You bloody lazy Malfoy, get up!" Blaise's head poked into the dark room as he hissed uncharacteristically.

Draco moaned as he pushed himself to sitting position, carefully extracting his arms from around Hermione.

"Wassgoinon?" he mumbled, running a hand through his extremely tousled hair.

"Shhh, you idiot you'll wake her up!" Blaise was thoroughly exasperated.

"Wake who up?" Draco asked as he looked around him. His gray eyes grew as big as saucers as he fully realized the sleeping Hermione next to him. So it wasn't a dream after all. He extended a hand to make sure she was real, not just another one of his hallucinations, and caressed her soft skin.

"Yes she is real, now can you get out before I grow a beard?" Blaise hissed, pleased and annoyed at the progress he was witnessing. Draco turned to glare at his best friend for ruining his bliss as he pulled himself out of bed.

"You'll never grow a beard you git, seeing as your chin hasn't even a hair on it!" Draco grumbled as he whipped past Blaise. Walking into the hallway, he bellowed for a house elf to bring him a glass of water.

"You seem exceptionally cheerful today young man!" Abigail chirped as she walked towards the two men glaring at each other. "You should be after last night!" She sent him a jovial wink before disappearing into Hermione's bedchambers.

Draco took the water from a house elf and gulped it down.

"Can I understand the reason for waking me?" He asked Blaise after he had finished.

"You have the most mediocre means of amusement here. I have no idea how you managed to live here all this time, without contact from the outside world." Blaise drawled casually, taunting Draco.

"Oh shut up! You have the whole billiard room! Not to mention the gardens, and-" Draco cut off. "What did you find out?" He asked, knowing Blaise well enough to know that he didn't wake up early without a purpose. It's what luxury did to a person.

"In this state? I think not."

Blaise smiled and motioned towards Draco's makeshift chambers.

"Freshen up then meet me in the library in, let's say, half an hour." Blaise walked towards the grounds.

Draco dissatisfiedly took a shower and changed into fresh clothes. He found that once again, Blaise's advice helped. He felt wide awake now, and regretting last night. He shouldn't have acted so hastily. Though it had felt so…unexplainably good holding Hermione, molded into each other as if each was made for the other…

Draco shook his treacherous mind from these thoughts as two house elves pushed open the heavy oak doors of the library. Standing to the full height of the ceiling and several hundred years old, they were beautiful, intricately carved with Andalusian geometric shapes. He stepped inside to the familiar musky smell of the books Hermione loved so much…

Rows upon rows of books bore witness to Draco's days of research, where he had closed himself up, turned mad with grief and despair. They weren't happy memories, to say the least. But they weren't all bad. Draco shut his eyes as the ghosts of the past flocked upon him. There his father had stood, imposing and haughty, instructing his son on the dark arts. On the one of the antique wood chairs his hateful Aunt Bellatrix had forced him to learn Occlumency. Just beyond the shelves he had caught his parents in an intimate situation, one memory to this day he tried to forget.

Draco shook his head to chase away the memories and realized he was starving.

Blaise watched him in amusement, drinking his tea.

"Tipsy!" Draco called out.

"No need. I already took the liberty of ordering breakfast, seeing as I was reduced to a mere skeleton, which isn't good for my overall image I'm afraid." He chuckled.

Draco shook his head at his friend's occasional bouts of vanity and sat at a table laden with food. After he had eaten his fill, and had an elf clear away the mess, he looked expectedly at Blaise.

"Ah, yes the information I had for you. Well, I don't suppose it'll come as a surprise but I thought you would like to know." Blaise paused here for dramatic effect. He had always liked theatrics.

"Know what Blaise?" Draco drawled, his patience a taught string that might just snap at any moment.

"This." And here Blaise turned all business, handing a folder from the stack besides him to Draco briskly and turning to read another file.

Draco opened the file and began to read silently. The library was engulfed in a hushed silence, cut only by the sound of papers being turned. After what seemed like half an hour, after Draco had dissected every paragraph, he threw the file aside, the fire of his forgotten revenge rekindled in his heart.

"The git!" Draco muttered distastefully, as he tossed the file aside. A newspaper dropped out.

"_POLICEMAN DISAPPEARS UNDER MYSTERIOUS CONDITIONS" _The headlines screamed. The dates on the Muggle newspaper went back to four years ago.

Under them was a picture of a person that could have gone as Roger but for the hair color, a broken nose, and a slight difference in the sloping of the forehead.

"He planned this all. He planned marrying Hermione. He's been posing as that Muggle for years…" Draco mused, his brain working furiously.

Blaise paused from his reading to look up, a grave expression on his face.

"We are dealing with a cold blooded murderer. Who happens to be a wizard that history has no record of." He finished for Draco.

"This resets my whole theory. He wasn't revenging himself against Hermione. There is more to this than we ever anticipated." Draco had a worried look in his gray eyes.

"Is there a possibility it wasn't revenge?" Blaise asked.

"No, the Healing Iniuria confirms it, seeing as it worked." Draco responded, and the two fell into silence once more.

"What are those?" Draco asked, pointing to the innumerous files next to Blaise.

Blaise chuckled. "I do have a corporation to run you know."

"As you like to remind me everyday. It's only been a week and a half for your information."

"Enough for any of my employees to slack. Not to mention that deal from New Zealand is due to come in at any moment." Blaise countered.

"You know, I think you remain incognito just for the sake of it." Draco pondered.

"It does help strike fear into the heart of my enemies." Blaise smirked.

"Your face should be enough to strike fear into anyone's heart." Draco chuckled as Blaise's vanity kicked in. It was something he had inherited from his mother.

"My face does not…to remind you, my features are from the noblest ever to walk this land. Draco why the bloody hell are you laughing?"

Draco was laughing so hard, it felt as if he was letting out all the feelings of anger and frustration. When he had finally stopped, he felt light hearted.

"You know, if I didn't know you so well, sometimes I would think you were queer." And with that Draco stood up, leaving a furious Blaise behind him. He would figure out the humor of the situation sometime or another. That was Blaise for you.

Draco rambled across the many corridors until he reached his offices. He needed to recheck the book, though Draco had memorized it by heart by now. After he had lit the lamps, he went to his desk to retrieve it.

Not seeing the familiar image of the book, Draco started looking around the whole room, tossing a number of files aside. Any good feelings he had acquired evaporated.

Draco stopped. He remembered something. He had left a lighted candle before going to see Hermione last night. He went to the desk and found it. It had been put out, as was obvious from the fact that the candle hadn't been fully melted yet. As he glanced around the desk, his eyes caught something odd, something unusual. In the middle of the desk, an envelope rested amongst a pile of ashes. Something told Draco it was the missing book, and instinct told him it was a dangerous sign. His body temperature dropped several degrees as he slowly reached out for the envelope. He inspected it. It was blank, unmarked. Draco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and chuckled weakly. This must be Blaise's handiwork. The information he just got had made him jumpy that's all. They were wizards after all and one could easily Apparate from room to room. Hah! And to think he was worried… Or maybe he should be. Knowing Blaise, the envelope most likely contained some ancient hex or bubator pus or something.

"Did you think I'd fall for that you old queer? Your pranking skills are seriously under question." Draco muttered to himself. He put the envelope in his pocket. It would be fun to let Blaise little vendetta backfire on him. Draco smirked at the thought. Aahh, the joys of self-amusement at the cost of others! It was something neither Draco nor Blaise had done in a long, long while. And true to the saying: "Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin."

As he walked back to the library, something was still troubling his over-analyzing mind. _Why was the candle intact if Blaise had just put it out minutes ago?_

Draco quickly dismissed it from his thoughts. It was possible that a house elf had put out the candle. Or the wind maybe. Or maybe he was under estimating Blaise's powers of mischief.

Suddenly Draco found himself in front of the doors of his previous chambers. What brought him here? He was just about to go to the opposite direction as fast as he can when Abigail walked, or more precisely, danced out of the doors.

"And a right and a left and a right and pirouette!" she hummed in a tune as she spun around herself, like a professional ballerina.

"Oh there you are Mister Malfoy! I was wondering when I would see you!" She stopped, eyes twinkling. Draco looked as if he had just seen McGonagall in pigtails and giggling!

"Oh do shut your mouth dear boy. You look absolutely gormless! I'm not that old you know!" She reprimanded, and Draco managed to shut his mouth.

"And what makes you so joyful today?" Draco asked scornfully, painfully insulted at being called stupid.

"Don't talk in that tone with me young man! You should be in an excellent mood after last night."

"Speaking of last night, why did you leave her alone with me like that? You are supposed to be watching Hermione every second of every hour of everyday!" Draco asked, enraged when he remembered who had put him in that awkward position.

"Her mental state was unstable. She could have been pushed over the edge had I talked to her, or interfered in anyway. She needed someone she knows extremely well to pull her out of her fit. Which, I might add, you did a splendid job of, seeing as today her mood has been the best yet." Abigail narrowed her eyes at the platinum blonde in front of her. He couldn't be having second thoughts after last night now could he?

"You…you put me in a precarious position unfitting for a Malfoy!" Draco retaliated with the first, albeit the stupidest, thing that came to his mind. His heart missed a beat.

"What do you mean she's in a good mood?" he asked cautiously. "And why would I be the reason behind it?"

She purposefully ignored his questions. "Now dear boy, I was just going out to look for you. She specifically asked for you, you know!"

At this, Draco narrowed his eyes. "You are telling me, that though she hasn't addressed me with a single comprehensible word in more than a year, she is _asking_ for me?" He asked incredulously, with what seemed like a hint of suspicion.

"Yes." She answered curtly. "Now do go in. Don't make a fuss, or you'll hurt her feelings. I most certainly do not feel up to using any hexes today." And Abigail pushed him into the room. Draco, surprised at the strength of the petite old lady, didn't retaliate until too late. Without another word, Abigail marched out, and Draco could swear he saw a satisfied smirk on the, in Draco's opinion, old hag's face. He shook his head in disbelief and lamented the day he ever listened to Blaise. He also lamented the day he fell in love with Hermione Granger. Seeing as he didn't have any choice but continue, he braced himself mentally for what he had to face.

What he found in the lavishly decorated room had surprised him. To start with, the curtains were open, allowing a flood of sunlight to wash over the once darkened room, and its sole occupier. The state of which Hermione was in should have been enough to render Draco speechless. She was still dreadfully pale, with dark circles under her eyes, but her appearance had improved vastly after using the Iniuria with her bath. She usually languished on the bed, not moving a muscle, her eyes half closed. But not this time. She was almost sitting up, leaning against a considerable number of pillows behind her. She was staring out the window and hadn't seemed to notice Draco's presence. Draco was happy to leave it that way. He quietly lowered himself on an armchair, afraid to disturb her reverence. Afraid to ruin the pleasure he was feeling at the sight of her. No, no matter how many times Draco had seen her, asleep or awake, quiet or screaming, his heart would beat erratically the moment he laid his eyes on her.

It was foolish, Draco thought as he gazed at her, to still harbor any hope that his dreams would come true. But then why was his heart acting so odd, after being so numb for such a long time? He had thought that time had healed…no not healed, he never wanted it to heal. If pain was what would come with loving _her_, then he never wanted to heal. More like sealed. He thought that his wounds had sealed, his bitter anger behind, but looking at Hermione seemed to bring it all back, from the day he realized he loved her to the day she broke his heart. It was why he had avoided Hermione while she was awake, until last night. He watched as a ghost of a smile graced her pale lips, and his heart beat more erratically then ever...an overwhelming feeling took hold of his mind, and it was all he could do to stop himself from scooping her up in his arms…

Suddenly this morning seemed distant, as any lighthearted feeling Draco had acquired disappeared, leaving nothing but pain and…longing. He held his head in his hands and sighed. He realized too late that Hermione had heard it. She jumped at the noise then turned towards him slowly and Draco… was stunned. There in her eyes, what he hadn't seen for a long time, was a glimmer of light. A promise of life…

She was staring at the window, letting the sunlight warm her after so many days of darkness. She had asked Abby, as Abigail was known to her, to open the curtains as soon as she woke up. She had just wanted to see something substantial, something earthly after her dream last night. But she enjoyed the light too much.

Though it was very tiny, Hermione could feel a subtle change in her, something she couldn't recognize, not yet. Something that helped pull her out of the dark recesses she was drowning in. It was not much, but it was a beginning, and Hermione accepted with open arms. She was a fighter, and though she had forgotten that much in her sorrow. Her pain hadn't been quelled, but Hermione was determined that it would be. She was literally changed overnight, and she wanted to thank the one that did it. Or at least confirm that he did it. Someone had slammed a door shut, but Hermione didn't pay any attention to it. It was probably Abby or one of the house elves. As for Abigail, the woman went absolutely nuts when Hermione asked to see _him. _

Hermione couldn't figure out how she would talk to him when she couldn't even look him in the eye. She had seen pain in them the last time she had did that…it was such a long time ago but the memory of it was vivid, burned in her brain. It was ironic that the mere memory of his stormy gray eyes hurt more than the pain of the past year…much, much more. As she sat there, her mind conjured different ways to start the conversation, but somehow none of them seemed right…She watched as a bird landed on the oak tree outside her window chirping gaily, as if somehow it was trying to cheer Hermione up. Funny, she never noticed there was a tree at all. The garden seemed so beautiful from what Hermione could see, and it pained her to know that, just a few hours ago, it had pained her to see such beauty, such perfection, when she herself was so broken. Unwanted. Dark thoughts were filling her head and just about to engulf her when a deep sigh. She jumped at the sound, breaking out of her reverie. And just for a nanosecond she had thought it was her…her torturer coming back to get her when her newfound strength shut out the fear. Turning slowly, she realized that it was none other than the subject of her thoughts…unknowingly saving her from self destruction once again. She now owed him her life twice over…something in her chest stirred, lighting her dull eyes with a faint glimmer. There was surprise on Draco's face, as if he was expecting something else, before he carefully arranged his features and stiffened, as if bracing himself for something. He hadn't changed a bit, Hermione thought to herself. His platinum blonde hair was forever tousled the way he liked it after years of having it gelled back. His skin was pale, his face proud and beautiful, and Michael Angelo couldn't have carved a more handsome statue…nor a more pained one, for though his emotions were carefully checked, his eyes betrayed his raw pain, his beautiful stormy gray eyes… Hermione looked away, she couldn't bear to hold his gaze.

_At least I know I'm human… _

She told herself. She tried to speak but no words came out. Draco came to her aid.

"How are you?" He asked her, his hushed voice carrying across the room.

_What a question to ask_…When her feelings were in such turmoil. But she struggled to answer.

"I…I'm fine." She answered, her voice a little raspy from being unused for a long time. Hermione cleared her throat.

Draco rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm glad." He looked around the room. "I hope everything is satisfactory?" He asked in cordial politeness.

"More than enough thank you." She stalled, trying to come up with a way to bring up the subject before he left, and before she lost her nerve.

"Actually I wanted to thank you for…for everything…and…I'm …and for helping me get through…last…last night." She unconsciously blushed under Draco's intense gaze, and he reacted in surprise to the color gracing her cheeks. He stood up and took a few steps towards her, before stopping, as if battling some internal conflict, before giving up and sinking into an armchair by his side.

"It's my duty." He simply said, his voice sounding exhausted and weary.

A comfortable silence filled the room, each at a loss with the words they yearned to say. Draco was lost in his thoughts, dissecting every word of the first conscious conversation he had with Hermione. His ache for her grew when he realized he missed her witty antics, the way she managed to wrangle a new piece of information in every sentence…

Meanwhile Hermione stared outside the window once more, gathering the courage to ask him the question plaguing her for years…

"Why was it me?" She asked softly, avoiding his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Asked Draco, nonplussed.

"Why was it me?" She repeated the question, a little more loudly. "You could have done much better, Dr…Draco. Why me?" the question tore out of her in genuine anguish. Draco had heard the catch in her voice when she said his name.

He took a second to fully comprehend her question, then jumped up and started to pace the room furiously. He stopped to look at her. She was avoiding his gaze.

"Why you? Why you? You …are asking me why _you_?" He choked his words in his pain, saying them louder than he had meant to. Checking himself, he took a deep breath and tried again.

"Hermione, love, look at me. Please, look at me. I'm not angry I promise" He tried to reassure her. She wouldn't turn her head, but out of fear or out of anguish he didn't know. He strode over to her side, and caressed her cheek softly, enjoying the coloring of her skin under his touch, allowing himself a moment of bliss after years of pain…and yet she would not move. Holding her face between his hands he gently turned her to him.

"Why not you? You're the best thing that happened to me, there _isn't_ anything better." He said truthfully. There was still doubt in her chocolate brown eyes, and something else that Draco didn't understand.

"What do I have to do to prove that to you?" He asked agonizingly. "Tell me, and I'll do it!" She wouldn't meet his gaze. "Hell, I would move the skies and the earth, I would jump off a cliff, I would…I would free all my house elves and pay them wages!" Hermione gave a wan smile at his last declaration but went back to staring out the window. She was convinced he wasn't telling the truth.

"Draco, you don't need to lie to me." She said in that same soft voice.

"Oh, Hermione, why are you doing this to me?" He whispered.

She twitched in pain, and Draco stopped. "What's hurting you?" He asked, quickly reaching for a bottle of painkilling potion at the side of the bed.

"Everything. It's burning! Make it stop please…" Hermione twitched again, rocking back and forth, trying to drive away the sudden bout of pain, all thoughts driven out of her head. Draco clenched his jaw, a muscle twitching, and quickly gave her a spoonful of potion that had an almost if not immediate effect on her. She relaxed and closed her eyes, exhausted at the effort she just made with Draco. In a few minutes she had drifted of to a state of semi-sleep induced by the potion. Cradling her in one arm, Draco lowered the pillows behind her and drew up the covers up to her chin. He closed the curtains halfway, allowing only a slit of light to pass, before going back to Hermione's side.

He unconsciously brushed his lips on her forehead, and her eyes opened halfway. "Shhh…Sleep. You need the rest. I…" He was going to say "I love you." But then stopped. He didn't want to scare her off. "I'll always be here for you." He murmured softly instead, and she mumbled something before closing her eyes again. He left the room to find Abigail near the door, trying to pretend like she hadn't eavesdropped. Holding himself, he nodded curtly to her. "Hermione is sleeping. I don't want you to move even an inch from her side, do you understand? Anything you want can be fetched by the house elves. " He ordered forcefully, his face blank. Without another word he left, his paces fast until he reached an abandoned corridor. Stopping, he leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, cradling his head in his hand, shaking from the emotions pent up inside him. The picture of her face when she blushed was burned into his memory…he groaned as he remembered his reaction to such a simple thing…

"I love you. Merlin Hermione, no matter what I say, I love you! Always and forever…" He whispered to himself over and over again.

An envelope lay in his pocket, forgotten…

**A/N:** **ooh this story is getting nearer to… gulp …to THE END…**

**Or is it? Hermione has certainly changed though, don't you think? I hope its permanent.**

**Reviews extremely appreciated, though I do understand if I'd lost any readers I have due to the inexcusable delay. Still though, really, I do need ur feedback. It helps me write. Thanks again to lily and a big thanks to everyone in who paid any attention to my story; you helped it become what it is now. **

**Thanks to prongs, who incidentally has a new story put up. You all know her as naufdude, famous authorette of "Forbidden Love". Her new story is called "Heart of a Rose" and I'm beta-ing it. (I also chose the title. Just thought I would mention it :P) oh I should mention that it's on hiatus… **

**Well, until the next chapter of "What Time Can Never Heal" Au revoir!**

**PS. Oh, I forgot to mention the reason of my adjournment…ummm, if anyone noticed, I totally screwed up this story. I…it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to and I feel like it's turned into an action story instead of romance. I will make up for it as well as I can but I apologize again for deluding myself into thinking this was a…I don't know, some kind of story. It's really a marvel that I was actually added on anyone's favorite list. That being said…**

**PPS. And, hmmm, thanks to mawii who I forgot to tell about my last update. U really should make an account for yourself dearie!**

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	14. Chapter 14

chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks to thisrecurringdream for the wake up call(), and sushi, mawii's sis, for liking my story.**

**Chapter 14:**

Harry was getting extremely dizzy from watching Ginny pace up and down…

"Ginny, will you please sit down!" He pleaded with her, for the umpteenth time. He had half a mind to get up and force her in a chair, but he didn't think that the fiery redhead would appreciate that much…

"Ginny, Hermione is my _best friend_…" Harry made an attempt to placate her. "I'm as worried as you are. But I don't believe ruining the carpet with your constant pacing is the answer, love. You need to relax."

Ginny didn't even gratify his request with an answer, choosing to glower at him instead. Harry sighed and gave up. She'd been like this ever since last night, when they received a letter, by owl, from Draco stating that he needed to tell them something. He hadn't been able to tell them much, just the time he'd be able to contact them. Harry picked up the letter and reread it, just to give him something to do. It was addressed from Madam Malkin's Shop to the esteemed Harry Potter:

_Bill of Invoice_

_One Green Dress Robe 315 galleons_

_One Red Dress Robe 515_

_Total: __830_

_To be picked up at morning __as soon as possible_

To an outsider, it was just a receipt. But to Harry, it meant that Draco needed to communicate with Harry and Ginny at 8:30 in the morning, before they both went off to work. Harry smirked. "Draco priced you higher than me…Should I be insulted?" He said turning to Ginny.

"Harry! You insensitive prat! This. Is. Not. A. Time. To. Joke! Just keep your eyes on the bloody mirror…" she snapped, surprising Harry. It seemed like the stress was finally taking its toll on his wife's fiery spirit. He dutifully looked at the two way mirror lying on the table between them. Checking his watch, he found that it was 8:40. What possessed Draco to be late when he had something important to tell them? He knew that Ginny and Harry could not be late for work, or inquiries would be made if they were.

"Drat that Blaise! I should've never left Hermione! Never!" Ginny muttered vehemently under her breath.

"What was that love?" Harry asked, a bit distracted.

Ginny flushed, she had nearly given away Zabini's secret. Before she could think of the answer, the surface of the mirror gently rippled. She rushed to Harry's side, and they both looked intently at the Draco's face as it slowly came to view.

"Hallo! How are you lot doing?" he asked in a cheerful tone.

For a second, Harry and Ginny were nonplussed. Then…Ginny's anger kicked in.

"How we are? _How we are_? You little what-sit…how'd you think we are? Happily chirping away? We've been bloody worried the whole day, and sick with fear, and you ask us _how we are?_" Ginny ended the last sentence in a hysterical shriek. Draco looked a bit stunned, his smile faltering a bit.

"Hey mate. You were a few minutes late…" Harry said, taking control of the situation, sensing a storm about to brew, as his wife looked close to breaking the mirror, and Draco seemed a bit inclined to show a bit of his infamous Malfoy anger. Which wouldn't do. Not at all, judging the circumstances.

Draco struggled a bit to compose himself, and turned to Harry, looking apologetic.

"Yes, sorry bout that. I know you lot have to go to the Ministry and all, but I got caught up in choosing Hermione some Muggle classics and…" Draco trailed off sheepishly. He was afraid he had said too much,

"You're late because you decided to go book shopping for Hermione!" Ginny kept on screaming.

Draco had the gall to look indignant. "Of course not, I wouldn't leave her _alone_! We have an extensive library…"

Ginny backtracked a bit.

"Err…Draco? Say that again…" She asked, causing both Harry and Draco to look at her with no small amount of surprise.

"I have an extensive library?" Draco raised one brow in question.

"No, no the part before that…" Ginny gripped a chair fiercely. The anger had left her suddenly, leaving her tired and weak.

A look of understanding dawned on Draco's handsome face. Harry was still baffled.

"Aaah, that. I was picking out Hermione some books for her to read. She was getting quite bored alone." Draco waited uncertainly for the pair's reaction. He himself hadn't believed it when Hermione had requested reading material…

Harry, poor man, still looked lost, while Ginny went so white Draco was afraid she would faint.

"Harry, mate, I advise you to get a firm hold on the missus." He chuckled. Harry, not understanding what Draco meant, turned around to look at his –now pale- wife. He immediately to hold of her hand.

"Ginny, love, what's wrong? Ginny speak to me!" Harry panicked when Ginny kept silent. It wasn't like her. He turned to Draco. "Oi, flaxen hair! What did you tell her?" Draco never got the chance to answer, for suddenly Ginny was gripping Harry in bone crushing hug. She was crying so hard, it was difficult to understand what she was saying.

"Ginny! Ginny…" Harry pleaded with her.

"She's okay…she's going to be fine…" Sobbed Ginny into Harry's neck.

"What?" Harry asked as he held her slim body, afraid that if he let go she'd crumple.

"Hermione." Ginny whispered, the relief evident on her face. "Hermione's okay. She's going to make it…"

Harry nearly dropped her. "What? When? How?" He rounded on Draco, who was smiling.

"Just a few days ago. I…we…She…errr…the healing Iniuria seems to work…" Draco decided on the simplest explanation.

"How do you know it's for real? Not just another mood swing? Or that she won't go back?" Harry demanded.

"From the look on her face." Draco answered. It was as simple as that. Draco was a man who followed his instincts, and his heart told him what he had wanted all these months. More specifically, it was the gleam in her eyes. Tiny, but existent. "She's sitting up Harry. She wants to read. The curtains are drawn. She nearly smiled to me yesterday…" Draco stopped himself before he babbled too much. He had already acted like a lovesick puppy in front of Blaise, and there was no need to further embarrass himself.

"But what if—"

"Harry, damn it, I won't let there be a 'what if'! If it means my life…I won't let Hermione go. I won't! I will do everything in my power to get her back. Do you understand me?" Draco was so intense; the Potters were a bit overthrown. The glimmer in his eye affirmed what he said. He _would_ die twice before anything happened to Hermione.

Harry paused, mulling on this new piece of information, while Ginny calmed herself down.

"I need to go. I just wanted to give you the good news. I guessed you were worrying yourself sick, and as usual, I'm right." Draco smirked. Ginny smiled to herself, that smirk hadn't been used since Hermione had gotten herself engaged. _Things are finally changing for the better…_But wait! What about Zabini?

"Harry, get out of the room." Ginny ordered.

Harry was obviously shocked.

"What? Why? Hey…wait…what am I missing?" He protested as his wife pushed him out the door. Ginny sighed, sometimes men were as thick as bludgers…

"Harry, we're late. If we arrive together, they'll suspect something!" Ginny made up an excuse.

"No they won't! They'll just think we're…ahhh…prolonging our nightly activities!" Harry was mystified. What did Ginny have to tell Draco that she couldn't tell him?

"Harry! Just move! I have to tell Draco what to do when Hermione gets her period!" Ginny, desperate, blurted out the first thing that came to mind. It worked. Harry went bright red, excused himself, and immediately left without another word.

"Ginny? That was a bit too loud for my liking…" Draco muttered, trying not to laugh.

"Shut up, git! It was the only thing that I could think of!" Ginny plopped herself into a chair, her focus on the mirror.

"So what did you want to ask about?" Draco asked.

"What happened to Zabini? He's not loitering around the house I hope?" Ginny talked fast, she was now thirty minutes late. The MoM's cronies, would come knocking at any moment.

"No, he left this morning for work. Why, may I ask, are you so concerned?"

"An outsider may stop Hermione's progress. She thinks Zabini is dead too, remember? If what you say is true, she might start walking around Malfoy Manor, and bump into him."

Ginny checked her watch.

"Hmmm…I hadn't thought of that. I was too busy—"

"Yeah, I'm sure you were." Ginny mumbled, smiling.

"And anyway, I don't think you should worry about Blaise. He's not coming back till Hermione's gone. He said he had a snitch in the company or something." Draco continued, pretending he hadn't heard Ginny.

"Good. The nurse?"

"Perfect."

"Hmm…I have to go now, Draco. You know how _they_ are."

"Yes I do. I'll keep you posted."

"You better." Ginny muttered a word, rendering the mirror useless. She hid it, and walked out of the room.

Someone in the shadows chuckled. The plan was going perfectly.

**A/N: I know I know! I deserve to be skinned and beheaded and tortured for not posting a chapter sooner! I've turned into the kind of writer I hate: the ones who don't update regularly. And not to mention that this isn't much of a chapie, but it was what I could squeeze in between exams, projects, homework, and everything else! I promise you the next chapter WILL be HUGE! Something else…I'm changing my penname, do to …ah…unnamed reasons. Anyway, chapie 14 will be on M0jojojo, but chapie 15 will be on **_**ishallthink**_**...stupid penname. I know. But like I said, I shall think. and if ur interested in reading the remainder of this story, please put (ishallthink) in ur author alerts...(i really hope u do...)**

**And I apologize for not answering your reviews…I've been banned from by my well meaning parents, because I've become obsessed , and can't help checking my email every five seconds. And because I've agreed to work hard this term. They do deserve to be proud of **_**something…**_**so a friend of mine is posting this for me. Anyway I hope these answers aren't too late:**

4dracoisthesexiestmanalive: thank you! i was worried u guys wouldn't like it...

thisrecurringdream: i luv u! ur the best honestly! i really am the worst person ever i hope u can forgive me ...no really people this girl got really nice stories up her sleeve, check 'em out!!

luvharu7: thank you for reviewing!

mawiiwowii: u kw ur awesome! no more needs 2 be said:P

liliy: aaah! ur adorable! seriously!

lily1121: hehehe...update soon is on my agenda:P


	15. Chapter 15

Science the Islamic Way

**Chapter 15: **

_Much Ado About Nothing_. That's a Muggle favorite isn't it? Draco added the never opened book to the growing pile. _Uric the Oddball: A Closer Look_. Hmmm, that should be funny. He threw it with the rest. He looked around at his vast library.

"I think that would be enough for her for today. Honestly, fast can that woman read?" He fumed. This was his third trip to the library, in one day.

"I mean, I love books. But this is absurd." He muttered. Looking around him, he snapped his fingers. "Tillie? Tillie!"

The little elf Apparated next to him. "Yes master?" She waited anxiously for his request.

"Please take this to Miss Abby. She will know what to do with it." He indicated the pile of books with a languid hand.

"Right away sir!" She hurried to the pile of books and carried them, teetering a bit under their weight.

"I say, do you need any help with those?" Draco asked, looking at frail Tillie with no little uncertainty.

"No master. Tillie can do it by herself sir." The little elf stammered, huffing and puffing.

"Nonsense. Tipsy!" Another elf popped out of nowhere.

"Yes master!"

"Help Tillie with those books."

"At once sir!"

He quietly watched the two of them hobble out of the library. Funny things house elves. Not seen, not heard until needed. Why, Draco must have dozens, but there couldn't be a whisper to be heard of them, except Tillie and Tipsy, who tended to Draco themselves. The rest kept out of the way, with only the shining floors as any evidence that they existed. Hah, if Hermione was here, she'd probably say he was an evil slave driver.

Draco stopped. Hermione _was _here. His brain hurt suddenly, and he closed his eyes as he sank down on one of the library's leather chairs. It was so bloody _hard_….she was right under his roof, in the place his heart had always yearned for her to be, and he couldn't do a damn thing! Damn it, he could barely look into her eyes without his heart wrenching, without seeing the raw pain in them, without feeling so guilty…

"Damn!" He pounded on the coffee table next to him, making a priceless Chinese vase fall and break. "Shit! Idiot Draco! Can't I do _anything_ right?" He aimed his wand at the mess. "Reparo!" The vase was fixed.

"Uh! I need to get out. I need to _do_ something!" He paced restlessly. He was feeling useless. Cooped up in this house, with no work, nothing to keep him busy, it was hurt to wake up every morning and know he couldn't make a difference. Or change back time. Or something! He couldn't even work on his cases…that Muggle killing case he was working on, the one that brought this whole thing…

And Hermione. He longed to be near her, tell her what he felt like, he wanted her so badly to…to stay with him. He needed to know if there was any hope…

It was decided. He had to go visit her. Get over his fears. And make sure she hadn't finished with the new books already. With a purpose now, he got up quickly and left the library.

"How is it, that you never used any kind of potion to brush your hair?" Abigail asked Hermione, with no little amount of surprise. She looked at Hermione's curly brown hair, then at the brush in her hand.

Hermione gave a wan smile.

"It's easier to brush when it's wet Abby. But I do admit, I've stopped taking care of it since…well for a while now." She replied softly. She very nearly said the unspeakable, but had managed to stop herself in time.

Abby stopped for a heartbeat. She went on brushing Hermione's hair quietly. She leaned back to admire her handiwork. What she saw didn't please her.

"We are magic, are we not?" She frowned. "Then we will use our magic to fix this! I'm sorry dear, I know you're all for the Muggle ways and I quite admire you for it, but some situations ask for desperate measures!" She exclaimed emphatically, causing Hermione to smile. "Yes that is what we shall do! On to war my fellow brave soldiers. On to battle!" She brandished her wand about and in a matter of seconds Hermione's hair was washed, cleaned, and fixed into an array of lovely curls.

"There! That's quite better don't you think? You should always be at your best….yes, you have a lovely face, there isn't much I should meddle about…all that's left is him getting his lazy ass up here…" Abigail muttered the last part to herself, appraising Hermione thoughtfully. "Though it's love already. I see it in his eyes. If she would just let him in. If only he had a little more patience. But he's a coward; it's what got him into this mess in the first place…" She went on muttering.

"I'm sorry Abigail, I couldn't quite hear you. What were you saying?"

The kind old nurse quickly snapped back to focus.

"Oh nothing dear. Just wondering if you've had anything to amuse yourself with, instead of languishing about in this most dull manner. You did finish the library dear." She looked about in the room.

"Oh, yes." Hermione was quick to answer, before the nurse came up with something. "I had some more books brought up to me. Dr- Mr. Malfoy was kind enough to stop by and ask if I needed anything. Tillie just brought them." Hermione colored slightly, just the hint of pink on her pale skin.

"He did, did he?" Abigail asked, with a twinkle in her eye that went unnoticed by Hermione. Hermione knew the house elf by name. This was definite improvement! And she mentioned Draco's visit! Her charge was looking out the window in silent contemplation, and Miss Abigail could only guess what, or _who_ the subject of her thoughts was. "Well, I'll leave you to your reading. Though you must want something else to amuse you…oh, I have it! Records! He must have some in this house…I remember Narcissa was fond of music, so Blaise told me. I'll just go and hunt about for them dear!" Abigail got up. There wasn't much more she could do than wait for nature to take its course. Though these two were taking enough time. "If you need me just call out, and I'll be able to hear from anywhere."

Hermione was quiet. _Narcissa loved music?_ There was so much she didn't know about Draco, so much she should have…Her eyes clouded over as dark thoughts began invading her mind again. They never left, always hidden in some corner of her head, waiting for her to let down her guard, for her to sleep before they started attacking her again. It's why she read so much. Books chased away these thoughts, keeping them hidden, keeping her lost in a surreal world of words, stories…

And kept thoughts of _him_ away. But he was always there in her stubborn heart, never fading away, the feelings getting stronger as she healed slowly. There was this…this feeling of _hope_…of confusion…she should still be in pain. She should still be having nightmares when she's awake. She shouldn't be caring about what her _hair_ looked like. But for some reason, she wasn't. The dark world she had known since she married that _monster_, was gone, or at least, Hermione hoped, far away. She felt like _giggling. _Which was not normal. No not normal at all. And Hermione felt guilt. She had lost a child, her own flesh and blood. She shouldn't have these absurd thoughts! She should pay for what she did. Not thinking what it would be like touching those lips…NO! No-no-no-no-no Hermione shook her head violently.

"NO!" she yelled, all the feelings of confusion, of pain, of terror, betrayal, of…of love exploding with that single syllable. Hot tears fell down her face as images flashed through her brain. The door banged open. She looked up in time to see a very worried Draco hovering over her. How did he come so fast? Did he fix his hair? She wondered through the jumbled state of her brain. Then she laughed. Of all the thoughts! It was a high pitched, maniacal laugh, and she gasped for breath.

Draco paused, unsure what to do. This sudden change scared him out of his wits. On a sudden impulse, he held her. She melted in his arms. The room had an eerie silence that was broken only by Hermione's broken sobs.

Hermione felt him put his arms around her. Slowly, painfully, she gathered herself together, and used Draco's warmth to calm herself down.

After what seemed like several lifetimes of silence.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice hoarse.

Draco handed her some tissues.

"No need to apologize." He said tensely. He didn't trust himself to speak a lot. It was like this, every time he held her. He slowly, reluctantly, drew his arms away. He sat down silently on the opposite chair.

She immediately missed the warmth when Draco took his arms away. She looked out the window to avoid looking at him.

"You never come when I'm smiling." She joked weakly. She mustered up some courage to look at him, and saw the pain in the stormy gray eyes that used to haunt her dreams..

"I…Uh, did you get the books?" Draco deftly changed the subject.

"Yes, I did, thank you very much." Hermione answered.

"_Humph!" _

"Did you hear that?" Hermione asked Draco in surprise.

"Probably one of the house elves." Draco answered, waving it off. He looked at the untouched stack of books. "You haven't opened a single one."

"I…forgot to ask Abigail to bring them nearer to me."

"Which reminds me, where is that old hag?" Draco muttered to himself. He looked around the room.

"Thank you." Hermione uttered quietly.

Draco started. "For what?"

She tried to gather her courage. _Do it Hermione. You're a fighter! It's time to stop the fear…_

She was quiet for a few minutes while Draco, for once, looked into her eyes, trying to search for something.

"For what, Hermione?" He asked softly, coming nearer to the bed.

"For…for saving me. From myself. For coming into my dreams. For giving me hope. Life. For…I don't know! I just…I don't know! I never know! And I can't understand it. I cant'…I should be in pain. I shouldn't be happy just to see you! I don't, I can't!" She cried in distress.

"Shh…shh…it's okay. I didn't mean to upset you love." She felt happy to see him? He brought a long finger to her face, slowly touching her skin, feeling pleasure as it heated up under it. There was hope. _There was hope_. He let himself go, surrendering to his emotions, as he came closer till he and Hermione were practically side by side. She held her breath as he traced the skin on her neck, her exposed collarbone, her arm, to her wrist. Then he did the same thing again, this time though, with his lips, taking his time slowly, agonizingly…

Hermione felt searing heat, her mind went blank, she couldn't breathe or think, or…_Oh Merlin…_Her heart was beating, and unknown to her, slowly mended.

Then she felt cold. She opened her eyes…_had she closed them? _She saw Draco pausing over her, his face constricted painfully as he was battling some unearthly demon within him. She felt her heart slowing down

"Oh, don't stop. Please don't stop." She whispered, holding him close.

He laid down beside her. "But I don't want to hurt you. I love you too much Hermione. I don't want to hurt you." He breathed into her ear.

"Please…" Hermione begged, the darkness was taking a hold of her…

He couldn't control himself. Painfully he kissed her, lightly the first time, then longer, harder, with a hunger that scared him to his core. She stiffened, then, little by little, she gave in, holding him so close the two molded into each other.

And in that moment, the world stopped.

**A/N: I am truly and utterly a vile human being who does nothing better than lie around all summer cursing her writers block. And I deserve every bad review. And rotten egg thrown at me. If there is anyone interested enough to throw rotten eggs at me. I truly and completely apologize for taking so long to update! But if you don't like this chapie, then y'all gotta give me some sympathy, cuz this is the best I got right now. Which isn't much! But hopefully I'll finish the story soon. I'll try to keep my updates a little more regular, so there isn't a five month gap between them…**

**Well review please…………………………… please? It might motivate me into adding a few more chapies…()**

**Oh, and MUCHO GRACIAS for everyone who read, reviewed, favorited or just showed general interest in this story of mine. I owe u guys everything! **

**Cheers**

**(a few ions later) Sorry guys! i wrote this a month ago, but i dont have any internet! hope u guys like this chapie! it hasnt been edited, so any mistakes u've found, just remember...i finally got rid of my writers block! thats wat really matters, right?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: **

Abigail Plumbottom was no eavesdropper. She prided herself on her ability to curb her curiosity. At least that is what the old nurse claimed. But then what was she doing, all dignity forgotten, and bun askew, her right ear glued to Hermione's door? Well, the keyhole to be more exact. She could just about hear what they were saying.

"_I'm sorry.". _

"_No need to apologize." _

_. _

"_You never come when I'm smiling." _

"_I…Uh, did you get the books?" _

"_Yes, I did, thank you very much." _

"Humph!_" _Abigail exclaimed, thinking that Draco had to be one of the biggest idiots in the world. She rolled her eyes for good measure

"_Did you hear that?" _Abby heard Hermione say. She held her breath, hoping they wouldn't open the door…

"_Probably one of the house elves." _Well, Abigail reconsidered, Draco was a useful idiot.

She heard him ask Hermione about the books again.

"_You haven't opened a single one." _She sighed, albeit quietly this time. That couple wouldn't be going anywhere if they kept on reverting their conversations away from themselves.

"_I…forgot to ask Abigail to bring them nearer to me."_ Oops! Abigail had forgotten a few of her duties in her excitement to find a phonograph. She imagined they could waltz together! Yes, Draco could teach Hermione to dance. Dancing and music! That could bring back life to anyone! She hummed a few ballads to herself.

"_Which reminds me, where is that old hag?" _Old hag indeed! Abigail stopped humming. That Draco needed a few whippings to his behind, to teach him his manners! His mother had spoiled him too much. Speaking of his mother, Abigail started reminiscing about that lovely lady.

Meanwhile…

A dark shadow was creeping around the corridor. It stopped as it saw an old nurse at the door, a vacant look on her face_. That's the best Malfoy could get for the dying love of his life?_ What did that idiotic peacock say her name was? Amy? Anne? Abigail? Yes, that was it, Abigail. The piece of shit was ready to talk, once the veritaresum set in.

An evil sneer came on the face of the man in the shadows. The glitch in his diabolical plan had worked to his advantage after all. So what if Draco died a few days late? And now for the next step…

"Stooped as low as that, Abigail? Eavesdropping at the door?" The man stepped out of the shadows.

"Aah!" Abigail jumped from the door clutching her heart, as her reverie was rudely interrupted. "Oh, Blaise! It's you dear! I didn't expect you back so soon!"

"Well, yes, I thought I'd drop by to find out how Mal- Draco was coming along…"

"Oh! I do need to clear up one thing dearie. I just happened to be walking down this corridor, and I was thinking of something. This is not what it looks like!" Abigail bluffed. To be caught eavesdropping! Oh the shame! Wait, a new sound was coming from behind the door….

"I'm sure you were." Roger smirked. This was really clever of him, choosing Zabini for his identity. He should remember to reward himself for his cleverness.

"Shhh!" Abigail shushed him suddenly. She lowered her ear to the door. "They're kissing!" She whispered ecstatically. "Oh Blaise! It's finally happened!" She tore away from the door and did a funny waltz. "Draco took the plunge! Oh, he must be so happy!"

Kissing? Happy? Roger could hardly hear as a blind rage took over him. That was not part of the plan! The Malfoy bastard should be suffering. How could the slut even have the energy to kiss? That pretty, peach lipped, Mudblood bitch! How could she forget all the pain? She should be dying, as Malfoy watched, helpless. He should be hurt, not happy! Malfoy didn't deserve any good in his life, the slimy git. Hadn't he taken from Roger enough?

"Blaise? What'd wrong with you dear? You seem a little pale…" Abigail asked anxiously as she watched the play of emotions on the face of the man masquerading as Blaise.

_It was the nurse! It was that stupid, idiotic nurse! This as all her doing! _Roger should get rid of her. Now. He did not take easily to people who ruined his perfectly laid out plans._ The last one who did was behind that door, __Funesto Fetum slowly_- Roger thought gleefully- _killing her._ He snapped his head towards the object of his dark thoughts.

"Oh Blaise…I know what you're thinking…what if all this goes wrong? Draco will have more to lose than before, when he had no hope. But it won't happen. The healing Iniuria is helping her. She'll live! And she feels the same way, I know that!"

Roger stopped. The rage left him as quickly as it had come. The nurse had a point. A deadly calm washed over him. _Yes, Malfoy will have much more to lose. _And Roger knew exactly how to do that. _The ultimate revenge._ He shouldn't deviate from the plan now. He worked to hard for this, playing as an idiotic Muggleborn all this time to come here. Him! The man with the purest blood! And Malfoy waltzing around in _his_ manor- no, he wouldn't think of that anymore The Malfoy bastard will be so tormented before Roger finished him finally, he wouldn't even remember his own name. Which is exactly how he wanted it.

Now, to finish what he had come for.

"_Imperio_!" Roger pointed his wand at Abigail. Her face relaxed immediately.

She heard a voice in her head. _You are under my control now. _

She nodded her head obediently.

_You will forget we met today. You just saw a man in the house, and you should raise an alert. Mention to Draco that Roger might have broken through the house's defenses. Act as yourself; he mustn't suspect a single thing. Those are my orders for now._

And Roger melted into the shadows.

Abigail was suddenly taken by a huge fright. What was she doing here anyway? Oh! A man! A man in the house! What if it was Roger? Oh, oh she must tell Draco! Abigail hurried down the hall to find him…

**A/N: Well. I beat my own record it seems! It's only been 3 months since I last posted! That's not long! Really! No? You're not buying that? How bout if is ay I had writers block? I already gave that excuse? Noo…**

**Oh, oh. Enough fooling around. I failed at something I really wanted to happen, one of the goals I'd set in my life, and I… disappointed everyone I had wanted to make proud, including myself. Its just brought to light my superb slacking abilities, and stuff I'm been trying 2 shrug off. As a result, I've been really…out of sorts I'm afraid. I'm sorry, but that's the best excuse I can give! 100% truth, that…**

**And thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I received on the previous chapter. I don't quite remember if I had replied to them or not (I'm that down), but I hope I did, because all of you deserve a well written reply. And quicker updates! But seriously, you guys keep me going, and for that you have my undying gratitude! (no not like Roger's. this is real gratitude.^_^) **

**This chapter is a bit short, I admit, but I promise a whopper of a chapter next time! (which will be before my birthday. I promise!)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I'm despicable. i'm not even going to apologize for how long it took for m to update.:-S all i can say is, i graduated this year, so between graduation, college, and all that other crap i just did. Not. Have. Any. Time. Add to that, Xavier, my trusty Vaio laptop of six years that gave me so much inspiration, finally went to laptop heaven. It took a while of rme to adjust to my new laptop, Sir Prancelot, so i had a little writer's block. But im back! and i promise you the next update will be soon. very soon! Cheers! **

Hermione's head was reeling, as every thought but one was wiped away from her brain.

_This is where I belong._

Every cell in her body was humming, every nerve aware of the person kissing her. It was as if, in the space of a second, she and Draco had merged, become one, in a world with no order, a world neither of them understood or recognized. Hermione was terrified. Oh, so scared and—and… _alive_.

He had to stop. He had to break this before something went horribly wrong. But Draco couldn't. It felt so _right_, so much better than he had ever imagined. His heart was beating so hard he was sure everybody in the mansion could hear it. Beating with fear. Beating with love…_for her_. Only for her. Always for her.

They broke apart, gasping for air, foreheads touching, holding on to each other , afraid it was all just a dream, afraid it will all go away.

A moment, an hour, passed before Draco, coming to his senses, cleared his throat.

"I- I'm…" He paused. The words seemed to be stuck to his throat, and his voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat again. What was he supposed to say? I love you, Hermione? Marry me and have my babies? No, no, that would just scare her. Bloody hell, she must be terrified right now. Of all the insensitive, idiotic—he was such a clod! "I lost control, Hermione, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Hush." Hermione whispered. She didn't trust herself to speak right away. Draco paused mid-sentence. She turned her face towards the window, stalling for time until her brain started working again. Oh, the irony, one of the smartest witches in the history of Hogwarts, rendered speechless by a single kiss! The thought made her smile, and encouraged her.

She brought her gaze back to Draco. Bringing a hand to his cheek, she caressed it. He paled. She looked into his eyes, those grey orbs that had caused many a nightmare, many a dream. She saw the conflict in them. She also something deeper, something stronger.

"Draco, do you love me?" She asked softly, surprising herself. Draco started.

"I—I…Oh, Hermione!" He groaned. He took her hand and laid it in his chest, near his heart. "Do you feel that? It beats for you Hermione. No one else."

And that is what all it took for Hermione to believe him. And then something hit her, so strong she was afraid . She loved him too. Suddenly she felt weak.

"Draco, I need—I need to lie down a little." Her voice trembled.

Draco swore silently. He needed to remind himself to slow down. Hermione was still hurt, dammit! There will be enough time to woo her later. He moved into action, sliding off the bed slowly, fluffing the pillows behind Hermione's head, closing the curtains so the room would be plunged into darkness. After he made sure she was alright, he headed to the door.

Suddenly she spoke up.

"Draco? I think we need to talk—"

"Shhh…" Draco paused. "We'll talk later. For now, rest." He was barely out the door when he stopped again. "Hermione?"

"Hmm?" Came the drowsy reply.

He hesitated. "I just want—I want you to know I'm always here if you need me. For anything." And he walked out the door, closing it silently behind him.

He walked to his office and locked the doors. Lying his head on the cool glass of his desk, he tried to take control of his thoughts.

He'll die of heart expansion if this went on. They could also add headache and an ever-present _unmentionable_ to the list of the causes to his sure demise.

"Gah!" He grunted. He was a grown man! He could deal with this rationally, without acting like some bloody hormone-crazed, love-struck teenager.

Blaise would have a kick out of this. Good thing he wasn't here to watch the great Draco Malfoy go to pieces over a _kiss_. A bloody kiss, that shouldn't have happened had Draco not lost control! But Hermione's scent had been invading his senses, and she'd put him on overdrive.

Draco sighed again. He looked around his office, filled with papers that needed to be signed, case forms that he needed to fill out. Things he'd been neglecting ever since…

He flicked his wand, and an old, dusty account book appeared on the mahogany desk. Draco rolled up his sleeves, and sat down. He needed a diversion, and reviewing the Malfoy fortune's records was just the thing for it. He had always loved numbers, and Merlin knows he'd been putting it off enough. He picked up a quill, and started to work…

A few hours, three quills, and two Butterbeers later, Draco was fully immersed. There was something wrong with the records. Some of the numbers didn't add up correctly, and it seemed like Draco was short a few thousand. He counted up again. Yes, he wasn't mistaken. Maybe he sent it to a charity somewhere, and forgot about it? Draco's charity work wasn't accounted for in the records. But he still kept the receipts for the withdrawals. He searched around the room, fishing all the papers he could find. He paused, an unmarked envelope catching his eye. It looked vaguely familiar, and something niggled at Draco's memory. Maybe this would explain the missing money.

Draco sat down at the desk, reached for the ruby encrusted letter opener, and slit the envelope open.

Meanwhile…

Hermione had been a fitful state of sleep ever since Draco had left. _I'm always here if you need me. For anything._

His words had infiltrated her dreams. She kept thinking about them. Words so simple, yet meant so much. Hermione needed, wanted many things, but she wasn't sure if she had the courage to ask for them. What's more, she didn't think she deserved them. She sighed and shifted in the bed. She was feeling listless. She wanted to move, walk, anything but sit in this bed and be treated like a helpless infant.

_But you are helpless. Pathetic and cowardly too. _A little voice in her head reminded her.

"Shut up!" Hermione murmured. She won't let the dark thoughts take over her again. Not when she was feeling…something so perilously close to happiness. She threw off the bedcovers. "I'll show u helpless." She said aloud. Her legs felt like jelly as she tried to gripe her way to the window. She felt drained by the effort, but kept on pushing herself until, at last, she reached the chair near the window and plopped into it, weary and out of breath.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, then felt silly for saying it out loud.

"Aha what, dear?" A familiar voice asked as she bustled into the room. Abigail gasped when she saw Hermione.

"You silly child, what are you trying to do? Kill yourself? What are you doing out of your bed?" She admonished.

Hermione tried not to feel guilty. "I'm sick of the bed Abby! I just wanted to change. And it didn't even take that much effort!" She hoped she her nose wouldn't grow longer, like Pinocchio. She peered at it just to make sure. It didn't.

" If you wanted a change of scenery, then just call for me dear! That's what I'm here for! Oh if Master Draco knew. Speaking of which, what are you doing out of your bed child?"

Hermione was confused. She decided it was just another peculiarity of Abby's. She peered out the window and spotted the gardens. She was suddenly filled with such a strong feeling of longing it took her by surprise. She longed to touch the beautiful flowers and breathe in fresh air.

"Abby?" She turned tentatively towards her caretaker. "Can we go for a stroll through the gardens? I have never seen them, and I so desperately need a change of scenery!"

Abby snapped to attention. "Certainly not my dear! Oh, you'd probably catch your death of cold, amongst other things! Which shouldn't go without mention, you are still not strong enough for prolonged exercise."

"Oh, please, Abby, I _need_ this!" Hermione pleaded. She felt that if Abby said know, her heart would absolutely be crushed.

Abby hesitated.

"Please, Abby!"

She gave in.

"Alright then. But only for a short while! And no walking about, I'll carry you about with my wand. Do you hear me? " Abigail brandished her wand as a warning. Hermione felt joyful.

"Oh, thank you so much!"

Abigail stopped. "Oh and you should be as snug as a bug on a good old Scottish wool rug! That means we're going to need a few minor wardrobe adjustments."

An hour later, Abigail and Hermione were happily seated in a secluded part of the gardens. They had stumbled upon a beautiful clearing, with a marble bench in it surrounded by rose bushes. Sunlight streamed through the branches of an old oak tree and lit up the place, and Hermione could see a few fluttering fairies hidden in some of the bushes. It looked like a scene right out from one of her Muggle fairytales. She took a deep breath of the sweet scented air.

"I never imagined Draco as a person with such appreciation for plants." Hermione confessed.

"Well, he does care about the gardens, they are connected to the Malfoy Manor you know. And they remind him so much of Narcissa, poor boy, that he hasn't changed a thing since she died. Blaise tells me he went through several gardening establishments until he found the right people to maintain Narcissa's flowers." Abby told Hermione.

"Narcissa liked to garden?" Hermione asked, eager to find out a little about Draco's well guarded history.

"I'm telling you what Blaise told me. Yes, apparently she did. And she had quite a green thumb too. Everything you see here was planted, grown, and taken care of by Narcissa . She spent most of her time in these gardens, up until she died."

Hermione had a million and one questions to ask, but realized that Abigail had probably told her all she knew. Her stomach suddenly rumbled.

"Abigail, do you think we can have some food sent out?"

Abigail was shocked, but soon recovered. "Oh, dear, find your appetite have we? Oh, love, I'm so happy! This calls for a special arrangement! Oh, I know, how about a picnic? We'll have the elves bring the food out right here. Are you feeling cold dear?" Abby stopped to look at her charge. Hermione shook her head.

"I think that's a wonderful idea Abby."

"I know dear. I'm famous for those. Now, where is a blasted elf when you want one? Wait here while I go look for somebody, okay?"

Hermione nodded. She wouldn't mind a few moments alone in this magical place, she wouldn't mind it at all.

"Okay then! I won't be long!" Abigail hurried out of the clearing. Hermione could hear a shrill "Twinky? Bitsy! Anyone?" Soon, the sound of crunching gravel faded away, and everything became silent.

Hermione looked around her. This was Draco's world. And she couldn't think of a more suitable, more beautiful place to fit him.

She remembered his words earlier.

"_Do you feel that? It beats for you Hermione. No one else."_

It beats for you Hermione. _It beats for me. Only me. _

She could almost feel the erratic pounding of his heart against her hand. And a thought came unbidden into her mind.

_I love him. I love him. _

She felt her heart expand, finally heal. It was true what they said, she mused. Time cannot heal all the wounds. Only love can. Love.

"I love him." She exhaled, trying it out, seeing how it sounded. "I love him."

She said it again, louder, with more confidence. "I love Draco Malfoy! I love him!"

Someone clapped. Suddenly all the warmth left Hermione. Her heart sank as she turned around slowly, and she could not breathe, gripped with a paralysis born solely of fear. Fear and hatred of the man who had hurt her.

"Bravo, Mudblood." His voice was chilling, calm. "Never thought I'd see the day. I thought I had broken you enough, but apparently I am mistaken."

Her husband smirked. Hermione's blood ran cold. She was not going to be bullied around anymore. She was Hermione Granger, and the man in front of her was the scum of the earth.

"You were mistaken about a lot of things Roger." She said quietly. Her voice shook.

"I suppose your quite correct about that. For one, I had thought my darling wife had more decency than to kiss another man behind my back." The smirk dropped from his face.

Hermione gasped. How did he find out? With that shock, her mind was shaken out of its paralyzed state and began to whirl. How did he find her?

"How did you find me?"

"It was pretty easy actually. Those "friends" of yours are pure idiots, sweetheart." He made the endearment sound degrading.

"What do you want from me Roger? Haven't you done enough? What more do you want?" Hermione asked.

For a second, Roger's mask slipped, and pure maniacal anger showed through.

"I want revenge. I want what is rightly mine! What _he_ took!" He paused., the mask was back. He continued. "Which is why, oh darling Mudblood wife, I am going to take you. Luckily enough that boyfriend of yours found the envelope, and it took him well enough, let me tell you, he is one dim-witted fool. So we revert back to our original plans. Now enough chitter chatter, lets get going!" And he snapped his fingers. Cords crisscrossed Hermione's body so tight she could barely breath.

Hermione was terrified. She didn't understand anything. What Roger was doing here, how he got in, and what Draco had to do with anything!

Draco. He was going to trick Draco! He was using her as bait! But why? She was the one Roger wanted, what did Draco have to do with anything?

Roger laughed, a cold, mirthless laugh, as he saw the confusion in her face.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I have great plans for you when I'm done, my little Mudblood whore." He laughed again. "Now, we leave!"

And with a swish of his cloak, he and Hermione were gone.

**A/N: this chapter is for everybody who stuck by little ole me in high school. specially prongzy. love u guys!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: sorrysorrysorrysorry (_) i know, it was an inexcusable delay, and i probably have no readers left anyway, and... oh, what the hell.. im so beyond a simple apology:-S but i promise i havent given up on it!**

**anyway, on with the show!:**

The man in the ornate office was

The man in the ornate office was the last in line of one of the Wizarding world's most illustrious families. He was also one of the richest. And, if you read _Witch Weekly,_ the most handsome man this side of the continent. (for the 5th year in a row, it must be noted)

He was also, at the moment, very _very_ still.

A bird hooted outside his window, the sun dipped lower in the sky, Earth rotated around the Sun... yet the man with the gray eyes was seemingly oblivious, as if time had stopped around him.

And in his limp hands lay what seemed to be an innocent marked piece of parchment...

* * *

Abigail was humming a ballad out of a famous wizard opera while she walked down the corridor.

She, for one, was quite happy. How could she not be, when her ward was improving by the leaps and bounds, as it seemed? Why, the girl hadn't even wanted sunshine in her room once, and now she wanted to dine in the garden! Simply marvelous! And her matchmaking plans seemed to be working as well. The nurse chuckled contently to herself.

Now, if only she could find one of those blasted elves that worked for Draco!

Speaking of the man, maybe she should invite him to the impromptu picnic. And while she did that, have him sort out the food dilemma as well.

Abby clapped to herself. Problems solved!

Now all that was left was to find the dratted boy.

* * *

Draco felt a numb darkness engulf him. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn-

_Hermione! _

A jolt ran through his spine before he remembered that she was inside the house. With Abigail. Safe.

Besides, it looked old enough. If his memory served him right, this was this unmarked letter left to him amongst the ashes of his book.

If _he_ had wanted to act, it would have happened before now. The letter was probably a hoax, intended to scare Draco & Inc. into moving Hermione to another safehouse that would be easier for _him _access. Since _he_ must have found it nigh impossible to get through the Malfoy Manor's ancient magic defenses.

Draco exhaled.

But how _did _the letter get past the barriers? And land on his desk, out of all places, not like the other mail directed to the house?

_Harry had to know._

But still Draco made no move.

A faint knock on the office door reached his ears, and a split second later, Abigail waltzed in.

"Oh Draco! I can't find any of your house elves! And we need food, for Hermione! She's waiting for me in the garden, poor thing, and must be wondering why I took so long... "

The man she was talking to looked at her, dazed.

Then, three things registered in his brain.

Hermione. Garden. _Alone._

_Hermione._

He broke out of his stupor and looked around with wild eyes.

"Hermione! Where's Hermione?" He stood out of his chair and grasped a bemused Abigail by the shoulders. "Abigail, please bloody tell me you did not leave Hermione alone!" The letter fluttered to the ground.

"I- she's in the garden, she wanted a bit of fresh air-" Abby was flabbergasted, Draco was acting weirder than usually. "You can come if you wan-"

But she could finish her sentence, Draco was out of the room and hurtling down the corridors as if his life depended on it.

_As if her life depended on it._

Draco was panting, more out of fear than exercise, as he streaked through the lawns.

"Hermione? Hermione!" He paused, maybe he was just overreacting. But what if he wasn't? What if the letter was true? A new wave of panic overrode him and he picked up pace.

"HERMIONE!" He bellowed, scaring a few birds out of their trees. "HERMIONE! HERMIONE WHERE ARE YOU?"

"For blooming sakes please answer, HERMIONE!"

He skidded to a stop.

There was a blanket.

And what seemed to be a muggle wheelchair (Harry's suggestion).

But no bushy haired witch.

Draco went as white as a sheet. And then some.

He sank into the nearby bench and cradled his head in his arms. He heard a sound of crunching gravel and looked up. Hoping, somehow, it was her. But, no, it was that bloody nurse. With a picnic basket. Spotting a lone Draco, she stopped in her tracks.

"Draco? Where's Hermione?" She tentatively asked. Draco looked like had seen a Thestral.

Draco didn't say anything for a moment. Then he looked up... and his gaze chilled Abby to the bone.

"Apparently, Hermione isn't here." Draco's voice was deceptively soft.

"I-I gathered that from her empty chair..." Abigail trailed off, not sure of herself. Or Draco.

"Well, I suppose you can also gather, since you seem to be ever so smart, that had you been doing your job properly, SHE WOULD STILL BE HERE!" Draco lost it. "You bloody incompetent fool!" Draco turned and strode up the path. He had to get to the letter. He had to get to Hermione. Before it was too late. Before-

He turned back to a shaking Abby.

"If I find her hurt in any way, _in any way, _I will have you personally accounted for it. You are now dismissed. Pack up your belongings. I _never _want to see your face anywhere near the Malfoy Manor. Do you understand?" Draco informed Abby in a cold, scathing voice.

Abigail flinched as if he had hit her. She didn't understand what had just happened.

She whispered to herself, unconsciously. "Where's Hermione? Where are you dear?"

Draco was running through the Manor, barely breathing, not slowing down unless it was to slip a few odds and ends into the pockets of his cloak. Panic had taken over his body and he was now moving on autopilot. He skidded to a stop in front of the carved wooden doors that led to his office and banged them open. Rushing to the desk, he desperately looked for the bloody piece of parchment. He was throwing things around, ripping through documents, frantically trying to find it, when, wild eyed, he spotted it in the floor.

He read it again, for clues, for anything.

But halfway through the words vanished. And they were replaced with ones that made Draco's heart plummet to the seventh earth.

_I have what you seek. _

Then, they vanished. Draco didn't stop to think how this could happen. All he cared about was Hermione.

"WHERE IS SHE YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" He screamed to no one in particular.

A new mantra seemed to be taking over his mind.

_Hermione, Hermione, Hermione HermioneHermioneHermione_

An anguished yell was ripped from his throat as he tried every tracking spell he knew on the parchment. But nothing happened.

Then, something appeared.

_The Black Forest. Centaur's Peak. Come watch her scream._

It seemed to have a mocking tone, as if daring Draco to come.

The Black Forest. Wait. He knew Centaur's Peak. it was a part of the forest infamous for its plants- rare ingredients used in Dark Magic.

Without a second thought, Draco Apparated.

* * *

Pop! A platinum haired person appeared out of thin air at the edge of the Black Forest. There was a clear patch of ground to his right.

Draco, relying in his instincts, turned to the closing. A piece of paper innocently lay there, between the ivy leaves.

Could this be a clue to Hermione's whereabouts? Or could it be a trap?

He glanced at the weathered paper on the forest floor. Curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up cautiously. His heart thudded. This was Hermione's handwriting! It was dated the 21st of January. A journal entry perhaps? He looked at the beginning.

**_I solemnly wear I am up to no good._**

So that was how she hid it. Draco felt a surge of pride. Smart girl. He read through an anecdote of something that had happened to her at work. Then suddenly, the paragraph cut off, and a more hurried, almost illegible scrawl replaced it.

_Every time I close my eyes to wipe away the tears, I see it. I see him. I can smell the blood everywhere…and I can still hear the screams that still haunt me every night before bed. Oh, the screams! My heart shatters inside into a million pieces. My world is now torn apart, and my soul slowly slips into the dark….I don't know who I am, I don't know anymore, and their faces, the faces of the people I couldn't save! I'm trapped in my body, in my mind, he feeds on my fear. I'm slipping away. I'm dying and no one will ever know! No one to save me from myself, to hold me tight and tell me everything will be okay….No one to rub my back when I wake up screaming…oh how I wish to die…how I wish for the nightmares to just end… _

Draco crushed the paper. He spun around in anger as his heart constricted from raging emotion. Hermione felt this. She had hurt terribly. _She had suffered…_

"Who are you? What do you want?" He roared into the darkness of the forest.

A cold laugh rebounded in answer.

Draco stiffened.

A voice suddenly spoke.

"The filthy bint had kept a journal behind my back! I found it... of course I would. Ah, it was amusing to peer into the mind of my little Mudblood slave! She had showed so little emotion when I- _played_ with her, you see."

The man's, _Roger's_ voice was coming out of nowhere. It had a tinge of amusement in it.

Draco gritted his teeth, and a low growl escaped his lips. He crouched down and turned around cautiously, trying to determine where the sound was coming from.

"It looks like you have nothing better to do other than spin around like a house elf. I always thought you were a weak fool. The Malfoy Heir indeed..." It chuckled in amusement. Draco heard spite in that voice, felt coldness wash over him, chilling him to the bone. He randomly thought back to the sickly sweetness of the "old" Roger. If only he had known then what he knew now...

"I am more a man than the likes of you can ever dream of being, you sick bastard!" Draco responded scathingly. "And you should be ashamed of even uttering the noble Malfoy name, lowly beast that you are!"

"It took you four years to work up the courage to ask that Mudblood, and that was only after _I_ took her away. You are nothing but a spineless coward, and yet you stand here assuming you are anywhere near my level of existence! Noble, hah!" The voice suddenly changed, taking on an angry undertone that wasn't there before. "It should have been _me _lording over the Manor, it should have been _me _standing on the right hand of Lucius Malfoy, _his true son_. Not a Mudblood loving, spoiled mummy's boy who couldn't even succeed at the one task given to him by the Dark Lord!"

Draco felt his heartbeat slow down from its furious beating, until it slowly, painfully... stopped...

Shock ran through his body, and for a moment his mind was blank.

Then his whole body went into overdrive.

"_What_ did you just say?" Draco hissed.

Silence filled the clearing. Then-

"Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that, didn't I?" The voice seemed back in control, filling with malice and a newfound amusement. "Well, I must properly introduce myself, I suppose. Can't be accused of ill-manner now. Whatever will my wife think of me if I was? " It was Roger's voice again, all sickly sweet.

A man stepped into the clearing, still half in the shadows. He had dark, lanky brown hair, and a thin tall frame. He had his wand out, and beneath the dark black cloak he was wearing Draco saw the glint of a dagger.

All this and more details registered in Draco's mind before he lifted his gaze to the man's face. Gaunt and pale, with a straight short nose... and suddenly he found himself gazing into what was unmistakably... his father's gray, soulless eyes.

" Hello, Draco-fucking-Malfoy, how do you do? I'm Adonis Lucius Malfoy Hemings, otherwise known as your so very illustrious half brother."

**A/N: yeah yeah i know, im uberly late on posting this chapter then i end it with a cliffhanger... i allow u all to kill me, im turning into the fanfic writer i've always hated.**

**i hope this explains some stuff. **

**oh, and if anyone has any preferences on ending the story? i already have it in mind but i'd like to hear your opinions, they really do matter. **

**love and peace!**


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